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THE LIFE STORY OF 
S. M. SWENSON 




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J AUGUST ANDERSON, Q-r. L 



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Copyright 1916 



DEC 18 1916 
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AUG. ANDERSON, Q-r. 



DEDICATION. 

To the foreign born citizen, who, combining the 
best of two hemispheres, has thus faithfully toiled to 
develop this glorious country, and dignify the "hy- 
phen," this book is fondly and lovingly dedicated. 

August Anderson, Q — r. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Those who knew Colonel Swenson need not be told 
that he was a remarkable and prominent man in his 
day. Those who did not know him will have a chance 
to find out by reading this book. 

Some will know more of Texas, her prominent men 
and historical events, when they are through with 
this book than they knew before they took it up. It 
has been a great pleasure to write it. Many a pain 
and discomfiture from ill health has been forgotten, 
when the writing " spell" has been on. And a grate- 
ful acknowledgment is hereby given to all sources 
from which I have gathered information. 

First to Mrs. Delia Bergstrom for permission to 
search the dusty, musty, damp, and dark cellar in 
the old consulate of the late consul Sir Swente Palm. 
I used to call it my "gold mine" even if it "under- 
mined" my health. 

Next comes my old friends August B. Palm, Susanna 
and J. G. Palm, Dr. Oscar Hedborg and brother, my 
old friends S. A. Lundell of Decker, and J. Swenson 
of Georgetown, as well as Mr. Andrew and Willie 
Palm of Round Rock. I am indebted to Mrs. Mills, 
daughter of the loyal patriot, Gen. J. A. Hamilton, 
and her sister, Mrs. Malony, for historical notes and 
kindly criticism. 



6 HYPHENATED 

The authors, books, and articles consulted, are, as 
near as I can remember: Dr. Stamline's article, 
"Svenskarne i Texas,'' Schon's "Swente Palm," 
Schon's "Barkerydsheren som blef millionar," Col. 
Mackemson's "Historical Sketch," Williams' "Life 
of Houston," Smithwick's "Evolution of a State," 
Mrs. Pearl Cashell Jackson's "Austin, Yesterday and 
Today," and her little gem of a book, "Texas Gov- 
ernors' Wives." 

To my patient wife and children, who have al- 
lowed me to write in peace, and bore them with my 
everlasting talk about early times in Texas, and its 
prominent men, I am greatly indebted. 

To my life-long friend Mr. Alex. Johnson of Decker, 
whose financial assistance has enabled me to get the 
book published in time for the holidays, and to the 
circle of true friends who encouraged me by volun- 
tarily subscribing for the book long before it went 
to the press, I am under great obligation. 

For the kind words of encouragement, I am ex- 
ceedingly thankful. 

And with the fond hope that I have been able to set 
forth with some degree of clearness a good strong 
mind's superiority over matter, I remain the public's 
humble servant, 

August Anderson, Q — r. 

Austin, Texas, Nov. 22, 1916. 



CHAPTER I 

THE FOREIGNER. 

The store-keeper was furious. The young man 
standing before him, erect and indignant, contended 
that he had only done his duty as he knew it. He 
tried to explain, and received an almost stunning 
blow. That was way back in the "good old days" 
when a man could "thrash" his underlings if he had 
a mind to. To be exact, this took place in 1836 in 
the good old country of Sweden, where "no slavery 
ever existed." 

To the insulted young man it smacked pretty much 
of serfdom, and when Lars Larson followed up his 
correction with the following threat: "Dare to sass 
back next time when I speak to you, and 111 teach 
you your place, ' ' it was all the young Swen Swenson 
could do to keep his temper. 

He was a rather slender but pleasant looking young 
man with a noble forehead, eyes gray and dominant 
that revealed nothing and concealed everything. A 
mouth with all the beauty, curves, and goodness, that 



8 HYPHENATED 

an artistic mind could demand, an electric movement 
when doing things that was marked with a marvelous 
precision. Gracious action and manner seemed nat- 
ural and inborn, although he was only one of the 
many country boys, who grew up and had to work his 
way through life. 

In the dusty twilight he looked anything but 
pleasant and gracious. The flaming cheek where the 
blow struck and the swelling veins on his forehead, 
the distended nostrils and clenched hands as he 
watched the vanishing form of Larson, all together, 
distorted the features and gave them an unnatural, 
reckless appearance. 

"Oh, you 'Lasse' you," he muttered to himself, 
"just because you are big and rich and coarse, you 
can't understand that I am just as smart, successful, 
and well-liked as you are, and maybe a little more. 
And so you are going to teach me my place, but by 
the eternal righteous God, I am just as much in my 
right to enjoy these things as you are. So good-bye, 
'Lasse'! good-bye!" 

He wheeled around as one seized by a new determin- 
ation. In the crowded corner of the store where the 
rickety bed stood, he lighted a tallow candle and 
stuck it on the box used for a table. Then he wrote 
with a pencil on a yellow paper: 

"Dearest Mother: Wlien you read this letter, I 



HYPHENATED 9 

am on my way to America. I will get there one way 
or the other, and I will make my fortune there. See 
if I don't. Then I will come home and buy you a 
big estate. I would come by just to see you once more, 
Mother, but then we would wake Father, and no one 
knows how things would go then. I will be twenty- 
one next year, then I won't have to ask for permission 
of anybody. Best greetings to Johan, Hedda. Johan- 
na, and Anna, as well as Father. God be with you. 

"Your Swen." 

Swen had received his wages for the first half year 
just the week previous. Being of a mercantile mind he 
had not decided how to invest it. To spend it would be 
a crime; but now the little sum was going to help 
him out of the country, and maybe he could earn a 
penny between times. He felt confident that he could 
manage it all right. Others had done it, why not 
he? In the old farmstead at Lattarp, everyone was 
asleep when he stole up to the wooden shutter and 
deposited the letter through a new-moon-shaped cut 
in the woodwork. There was a tear anda sob when 
the old dog that knew him so well, came around and 
greeted him affectionately. 

' * No, old boy, no, not tonight ; no you must not fol- 
low; go back" — the voice choked. Then he took the 
little bundle in his hand and set out in the big wide 
dark world. "Good Lord, help me," he cried in 



10 HYPHENATED 

broken tones as he speeded away from home and 
friends and birth-place. 

How he took passage on a ship to England, and from 
there to America; how he worked on different jobs, 
went to school, and two years later was ship-wrecked 
outside of Galveston in the year 1838, is the prelimi- 
nary of a romantic career, w T hich continued in Texas 
for a period of twenty-five years. 

There is an old story from the young man's early 
days in New York, to the effect, that one day when 
he was buying a choice piece of roast in a meat market 
and had put it aside to pay for it, an officer came in — 
later General Pearson — and on seing the fine roast 
said, "I want that." 

The butcher explained that it was already sold, but 
Swen spoke up quickly: 

1 ' If you like it, you can have it, sir. ' ' 

The officer apologized like a true gentleman, but 
Swen persisted: 

' ' If you like it, I shall be more than pleased ; I can 
buy a cheaper cut that will suit my purse better." 

The conversation that followed resulted in Pearson 
taking the choice cut of meat; the young man receiv- 
ing an invitation to "come and see him"; a life-long 
friendship; and one of Swen's boys bearing the name 
"Pearson" some twenty years later. 



HYPHENATED 11 

This little incident illustrates how "Swen" made 
friends, and retained them through life. 

You can take more liberties in a fictious story and 
dramatize it to suit your fancy, but a real story has 
some advantages over fiction that appeals strongly to 
more serious-minded readers. 

The life of Swen Swenson, his uprightness, his in- 
dustry, his neverfailing optimism, his thrift, his liv- 
ing up to an ideal, his modest bearing when that ideal 
was a reality, is a story that can not fail to interest any 
one in whose blood pulses the love of humanity. Such 
lives as his are a monument to the hyphenated Amer- 
ican, and an inspiration to our sons. 



CHAPTER n 

A FOOTHOLD. 

When Swenson was shipwrecked on the beach of 
Galveston 1838, it was not much of a town. Being 
destitute, having lost all he had in the storm, he had 
to beg for his first meal. The kind landlady had not 
the heart to refuse him, but before the sun went down 
that day, Swenson had established himself as a suc- 
cessful business man, and could pay for his board. 

Going down to the beach he noticed some casks, bales 
and boxes of goods from the wrecked ship, and having 
as good right as any one else to take possession of 
salvage, he set up a little primitive business, which 
was his first transaction, in the then young, two-year- 
old republic. 

He always had a knack of getting in with promi- 
nent people, and was soon recognized on account of 
his pleasing, efficient way of dealing with people. 
Mr. Adrian, the merchant of Columbus, soon recog- 
nized the ability of the promising young man, and 
took him in his employ. Thus went the first year. 



HYPHENATED 13 

The seat of Government had been removed to Hous- 
ton and the little Statehouse with its "shedroom" 
in Columbus, where so much of important early history 
had been planned and enacted, was occupied by a 
private citizen. President Lamar, it was rumored, 
planned for a more centrally located seat of Govern- 
ment up on the Colorado river on the frontier. Swen 
was all ears, and gathered all the gossip he heard, but 
like the wise fellow he was, thought his own thoughts, 
and took no one in his confidence. He would like to 
get in on the groundfloor, where this new site was to 
be located. To be sure, he did not have much to start 
with, but maybe he could pick up, or get in with a 
good partner. On a visit to Houston where President 
Lamar and all the style of Texas was to be found, he 
tried to find out what the chances would be. Someone 
overheard and communicated the news to Mr. Adrian : 
"If you value the young man's service, give him the 
promotion he deserves," read the mesage, "you will 
find it a wise move." 

' ' How would you like to go in partnership with me, 
Swen" asked Mr. Adrian one day. 

"What have you in mind to offer," he asked caut- 
iously. The gray eyes shifted color but revealed 
nothing. 

"Oh, any old agreement that will tie you to the 
business here for a good long while. You see the 



14 HYPHENATED 

old mule and spring wagon ? For $200 I will sell the 
outfit to you, then you load up with goods and travel 
around among the colonists and sell to them. We 
will divide the profits equally, and when at home in 
the store you get the same on all the goods you sell. ' ' 

Swenson looked his prospective partner fully in the 
face. "If you will allow me to fit up my own rig 
the way I want it, we will shake hands on the trade — 
but I don't want to disgrace the firm or our business 
with that old rickety outfit. ' ' 

"Stuck up, are you?" 

"No," replied Swen, "but I want to start in the 
right way, so it will be a creditable advertisement for 
the home place. You see it is introducing me and ad- 
vertising you." 

So they clasped hands on it, and the contract was 
drawn up in writing and duly signed. 

It was no ordinary affair that Swen ordered and 
fitted up on his next trip to Houston — a brand new 
painted, shining ambulance with a top overhead and 
"Columbus Supply House" gayly painted on the side 
curtains. Two fat, sleek black horses with shining 
nickle plated harness, a little ebony colored servant to 
open the gates and hold the horses as well as take 
care of them, made up the outfit which Swen brought 
home one day. 

The old mule brayed and hee-hawed when the rig 



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S. M. SWENSON 



HYPHENATED 15 

drove up to the store. Adrian open his eyes wide in 
surprise, scratched himself behind the left ear, chewed 
a fresh bite of "terbaccer" furiously for a few sec- 
onds. Then he said : 

"Well, Swen, if you aint got that grain of mustard 
in you that the Scripture tells about, I'll be doggone. 
I have heard 'old Sam' talk about 'hitching your 
wagon to a star,' or some fool talk like that, but it 
seems to me you have got that 'ideer' in your head 
fast and good. But mebbe you are right. Mebbe ! ' ' 

And Swen M. Swenson, as he now signed his 
name, was ready next morning bright and early, 
with a good load of merchandise and his ebony "Jim" 
to start on the journey. Besides coffee, tea, tobacco 
and light weight provisions, he had a supply of 
quinine and medicines, dry goods and fine things for 
the women folks, and a good supply of home made 
molasses candy for the children. If ' ' Old Lasse ' ' could 
have seen the young merchant that morning in the 
elegant new rig with his black servant and "high 
style," he would probably have forgotten his threat 
to teach Swenson his place. Perhaps Swen thought 
a moment along these lines during the first mile, for 
he turned to Jim and said with a smile : ' ' Now, Jim, 
I think we can stand any kind of competition for a 
while." 

It was not an easv matter to find the location of 



16 HYPHENATED 

different farmsteads — so hidden away were they in 
the canebreaks along- the Brazos lowlands. There 
were not many cash sales during the early part of the 
year when crops were growing and money scarce. 
Once in a while he struck some newly arrived colonist 
with a fresh supply of money, whose mind was not 
weaned from the things of vanity, which the early 
settlers had learned to look on as luxuries. Then 
there were the big planters with a lot of slaves and 
hundreds of acres in cultivation, with beautiful ladies 
of good taste who would welcome even a peddler with 
lace and embroideries. 

But Swenson aimed at appearing rather a drummer 
and salesman; with the planter he talked of "our 
supply house' ' in Columbus, and proposed to close 
contracts for big orders; with the ladies he talked 
style and latest fashions, and the molasses candy 
pleased wonderfully where there were littel tots, and 
the courteous young merchant seemed to fit in every- 
where. He talked politics, discussed the economic out- 
look and possibilities, and always had a kind nod and 
smile for the black hands, which made them fairly 
tumble over one another in their eager desire to do him 
a favor. They would stand, at nightfall, a respectful 
distance from the wagon while the "white folks n were 
around, then they would crowd a little closer, eager to 
get a peep at the grand things which this shining outfit 



HYPHENATED 17 

must contain. If any one of them was lucky enough to 
get a red bandana or any other trinket for a hoarded 
piece of money, he was envied for many a day. 
They talked about "Marser Swenson" and his "nig- 
ger," and wondered when they were coming back. 

Then there were the high-waymen — the gambling 
class, drinking men and men of desperate acts, out- 
laws, and fugitives from other states — many with a 
fellow-man's blood on his conscience and hands — 
who were reckless with their pistols, especially if any- 
thing were to be gained. The stray Indian who stole 
around on the outskirts of civilization, was not to be 
left out of the reckoning. 

Two horsemen on fine horses overtook him one day. 
One was the proverbial wearer of the gray hat and 
Indian blanket. 

"Hello there, young man! Going to start with a 
circus show." 

"Not exactly, General. It is more like a Methodist 
circuit rider performance." 

' ' The D — you are ! No circuit riding preacher ever 
traveled in such style as you do. We need them 
mighty bad down here though. Fact is, this country 
is going to H — quicker than any I have seen, and 
the Indians take what the D — can't lay hold of. 
Still I guess I need 'ligion as bad as any one. 
Heard about the massacre up on Brushy creek ? No ? 



18 HYPHENATED 

1 ' Seems liks 150 whites were killed up there by the 

d d Lipans. Carelessness, whiskey, and this 

d d rotten Indian policy. They say Burleson, Rev, 

Gilleland, and I don't know how many more, were 
killed. Have you any 'gin' along with you?" 

"No, General." 

"Any tobacco and quinine?" 

1 ' If you will stop, General, I will be glad to supply 
you with anything you need. Have a Havanna, Gen- 
eral?" 

1 ' By .thunder, that is a good one ! Put me by five 
pounds of tobacco, eight ounces of quinine, and a few 
cigars, and send me the bill at Houston.' ' 

"I would be glad, General, to make you a present 
of this box of cigars if I were sure of not meeting 
up with other gentlemen of quality." 

"Will you have a glass of Madeira, General?" 

"I will take two, my boy. That was d d good 

stuff. Come and see me Swenson when you visit my 
town," and off they were in a cloud of dust. 

"That was 'old Sam'," said Swenson to himself 
more than to his servant. 

"It shore was," echoed Jim. 



CHAPTEE HI 
A DREAM. 

"And oh, Cousin Jeanette, we had such a nice 
time over at Lipton's. You ought to have been there. 
You know they are such a refined people and the girls, 
just as sweet and accomplished as if they had been 
to Miss Butler's Seminary in Tennessee. They have 
a splendid mother, and, oh dear, how I wish my own 
dear mother was alive. But then I have no right to 
complain, and make you sad, too ; but we sure had a 
fine time." 

"Without any boys?" 

1 ' Oh bless your heart, we had company. But I will 
have to tell you, Cousin, how it all happened, or you 
will laugh at me. 

"You see, it was this way: last night just an hour 
before sunset, a vehicle, shining and glistening in the 
slanting rays of the sun, was seen coming through 
the fields. We wondered if it could be 'old Sam' who 
had changed style and taken to a carriage, or if it 
were the president who was out traveling and visiting. 



20 HYPHENATED 

And would you believe it, it was just the finest kind of 
a rig with a handsome young salesman looking like a 
prince in disguise, traveling around with his servant 
selling goods and representing a concern in Colum- 
bus.' 7 

"Oh, it is just a peddler." 

"Peddler nothing! I tell you, Cousin, he looks no 
more like a peddler, than you look like Aunt Dinah 
out in the kitchen ! And as I was saying, we had the 
most interesting conversation. Do you know I be- 
lieve he has even traveled in Europe, although I don't 
see how he could have done so at his age. ' ' 

"He must be a middle-aged man." 

"No, he is not; he looks like he was just of age; 
but he may be one or two years older than that. I 
cannot describe him. He will come over here some- 
time I am sure. I wish he would come and stay 
overnight, then you can see for yourself." 

Cousin Jeanette smiled a sympathetic smile as she 
took the young girl's hand tenderly in her own. 
' ' Cora, I believe you are a little in love with the young 
prince, already. Aren't you?" 

The fresh, blooming girl with the milk and straw- 
berry complexion, attainable only in a northern cli- 
mate, smiled shyly. 

"I could not help that I dreamed of him that night, 
was that so very wrong ? ' ' 



HYPHENATED 21 

"No, I guess you could not help that, but dear, 
wait till I have had a chance to look at him. I am 
afraid he is nothing but a common peddler." 

"Wait for what, Cousin? Do you think I am going 
to propose to him? Do you think I am crazy? Do 
you — " But a conciliatory kiss, silenced the lips and 
prevented a friendly feminine quarrel. 

"And then you know I have to go home to Tennes- 
see next month. I'll wager you, father is going to 
marry an ugly old maid so he can offer me a ' congenial 
home' again." 

"Well, if you don't like it you can always come 
back to me. As long as I have a home, you have a 
shelter," said Mrs. Long, as she laid her hands lov- 
ingly on the girl's damp curls. 

"You have always been my own dear Cousin Jean- 
ette, and I'll never have any secrets from you," and 
she kissed her fondly in return. "But how is the 
Doctor, tonight?" 

"He is feeling better and stronger, I believe." 

6 ' Oh, I hope he will get strong and well down here. 
It is such a beautiful and romantic country. ' ' 

"Yes, but it is full of malaria the doctor says. 
These fertile bottoms are not healthy." 

"But you raise splendid crops." 

"Yes, and perhaps the conditions will be better in 
the winter. ' ' 



22 HYPHENATED 



Dr. Long was one of the many who came to Texas 
seeking health in those early days. The mild climate 
— so often spoken of and praised, should be beneficial 
in his case he reasoned and so with his 35 negroes, 
and property converted into money, he came to Texas 
and invested at once in the old "Finckley Farm," 
which seemed a good proposition with its four or five 
hundred acres of fertile bottom lands and unlimited 
pasture uplands. He was an educated, refined, pro- 
fessional man, who sensitively shrank from mixing 
with the coarse class of people so plentiful in Texas 
in those days. Tall, slender, of a retiring disposition 
and a meditative temperament with a few congenial 
friends he spent most of his time at home, and did not 
take much interest in the management of the farm as 
long as the overseer was not brutal and violent with 
his slaves or dishonest with his superior. 

His wife — the cousin of Cora McCready who had 
come down for a visit — was a little younger than 
the Doctor, of rare beauty and refinement, with that 
transparent complexion that reminds you of a white 
lily, and a pair of luminous dark eyes that twinkled 
like stars. Add to this the most musical voice and 
intonation in song and conversation, and you will agree 
with the Doctor that she was — to him at least — "bet- 
ter than a thousand other women together." The 



HYPHENATED 23 

slaves fairly worshipped her, and she deserved it. 
There was no ill treatment of negroes on the old 
"Finckley Farm" as far as she could help it, and the 
little knowledge of medicine that she had learned from 
her husband came to benefit many an ailing negro 
on the place. No wonder that on all occasions they 
called on the ' 'Mist 'ess' ' first. 

w "H 5 %? w * tP it" 

The visit of the expected young salesman did not 
occur until late in the fall. Cora McCready left 
for Tennessee several months previous. The romance 
if the reader has anticipated one — is therefore nipped 
in ithe bud. Cotton and other products yielded im- 
mense returns. Money was circulating once more. 
Collections were good and young Swenson and his 
outfit fairly shone as they came around once more. 
Not satisfied with the polished nickel trimmings on 
the harness, he had the ambulance overhauled, painted 
over again, brass and nickel trimmings put on, which 
Jim was required to give a touch up every morning. 
A pair of new steelgray steeds pranced before the 
wagon and confidence, satisfaction, and accommoda- 
tion radiated from the young merchant. 

The Doctor was favorably impressed with him from 
the first moment. Mrs. Long looked more critically 
on the young man, but had to admit, that she could 
find nothing to prejudice her. The two men talked 



24 HYPHENATED 

business and drugs for a while, and when Swen- 
son was invited to stay overnight, he graciously ac- 
cepted the hospitality offered, although there were 
some hours left of the day which could have been 
profitably employed. 

Going down the steps he ordered Jim to unhitch, 
rub down the horses and clean the ambulance. 

"Do you touch it up every day like that?" inquired 
Long. 

Every day we have time or in the morning before 
we start." 

1 ' How about mud and rain ? 9 ' 

"We hardly ever travel on muddy days, and if the 
wagon gets muddy, it is easier to clean it every night 
before it gets dry." 

"Where did you learn to keep things in order like 
that, young man?" 

1 ' Observation and determination taught me, sir. If 
you want to get ahead in this world you will have to 
keep well in front, in fact, a little bit ahead of others. " 

1 ' And how have you succeeded ? Made any money ? ' ' 

"Fairly well. Another year like this and I will 
be able to establish a big mercantile business in the 
Capital myself." 

"In Houston?" 

"No, Austin." 



HYPHENATED 25 

"So you have faith in that frontier proposition 
also? Don't you know 'old Sam' is opposed to it?" 

"So would you or I be if we had a Capital city 
which bore our name. But onward, westward grows 
civilization, and General Houston cannot stop it." 

"Sam can do a heap, when he has a mind to. I 
would not stand in his way when he is up and doing. ' ' 

"He will be our next President, but I don't think 
he can move the Capital. ' ' 

How "old Sam" came near doing the thing in 1842 
every reader of Texas History knows. 

The general crowd of slaves congregated around the 
wagon that night. More money changed owners than 
ever before on .the plantation. Harmonicas and Jews 
harps were purchased, and many a jig was danced 
that night by young black feet. 

Swenson and the Longs were sitting on the piazza 
enjoying the mild night air and the scenery. Towards 
the Brazos, stretched the level fertile field adjoining 
other large plantations. It was the prophesy of the 
wilderness coming true. The shaggy liveoaks sur- 
rounding the place, and the timberland back of it 
furnished a setting for a picture that you would have 
to travel far and near to excel. From the negro 
quarters came the hilarious sounds breaking what 
would perhaps otherwise have impressed you as a 
monotonous surrounding. 



26 HYPHENATED 

"An almost perfectly ideal place/' observed Swen- 
son. 

"Yes/' admitted the Doctor, "and yielding good 
crops. If I only had a thoroughly efficient and reliable 
overseer, something like you, Mr. Swenson," he 
struck him friendly on the knee, "I think I should 
be in harmony with the whole world. Say Swenson, ' ' 
he spoke up with a sudden energy, "I have heard of 
you and your ability in business long before this, 
why can't you move over here and be my overseer? 
This old fellow Benson I have here is a regular brute. 
I can't stand him, and the negroes often have a hard 
time under him, when it is the busy season. You know 
how the hands are. Get them in good singing condi- 
tion with the keen expectation that something good 
is coming their way soon, and they will work with a 
swing, and a will that does you good to look at. But 
get them in a sulky mood and you can't get half the 
work out of them. Besides their mistreatment gets 
on my nerves. I will pay you a handsome salary 
and you will be treated as one of the family. How 
much salary would it take to equal the income you 
have on the road V 9 

Swenson mused a while: "I am afraid, Doctor, 
that it would take more than any overseer ever was 
paid in these parts of the country." 

"Well, I thought so." 



HYPHENATED 27 

"But the work on the road is a tiresome one, 
Swenson added, "and it doesn't appeal very much to 
me. I will think the matter over. Besides, it 
is a risky matter to travel around with collected 
money on hand; I would not be the first traveler 
in these parts who disappeared without leav- 
ing any trace. You have no idea, Doctor, how com- 
fortable and secure a place like this looks to a way- 
farer who has to rough it many a time." 

' ' I guess I understand you, Swenson. ' ' 

It was time to retire. 

"Would it not be next to perfection, if you could 
have a young efficient man on the place, at the table, 
and for general conversation when you felt like talk- 
ing — like this young man, ' ' the Doctor asked his wife 
on retiring. 

"And you are sure you never would be jealous 
having a handsome young fellow around the place all 
the time?" 

He caught her head between his hands and looked 
in her eyes. 1 1 Say, you are not likely to be that Eve 
who would let a serpent in our garden ? ' ' 

She met his gaze without flinching. "I have not 
been raised to regard my marriage vows that way," 
she replied, and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. 
"I have been perfectly happy with you so far, even 
if children have been denied us. God knows best. 



28 HYPHENATED 

Don't you worry, dear. I just thought to point out 
to you the one imperfection that you would have to 
guard yourself against. If I had entertained any 
secret thoughts, I would not have spoken at all. Can 
you believe me, Ed?" 

"Oh, yes, dear. I have always believed in you. 
But do you know," he lowered his voice and spoke 
solemnly, " if I were to die and leave you in this new 
country, I have the impression that I would just 
as soon leave you and the estate in his care as in that 
of anybody else in this world." 

She looked in consternation. "Please don't talk 
that way, Ed," she said with tears in her eyes. 

Swenson departed next morning with the promise to 
"call again." Mrs. Long hunted up pen, ink and 
paper and wrote Cora a letter. 
"My dear Cousin Cora: 

"I have seen your prince. He stayed with us last 
night. I admit now that he does not look like any 
peddler, but on the contrary seems to be the equal 
of any of us. 

"Ed. seemed to like him even more than I did, and 
wanted to engage him as an overseer on the planta- 
tion. If these plans materialize, you must come down 
and complete your romance. To see you happy would 
be a great satisfaction. I am sure that young man 
is going to make his mark in the world. 



HYPHENATED 29 

"Ed. is doing well these fall days, and crops are 
abundant. I believe Texas is all right after all. 
"Tour loving cousin, 

"Jeanette." 



CHAPTER IV 

DREAMS— STREAMS. 

' ' My dear Cousin Jeanette : 

"So you have seen the prince. It took you a good 
long while to get your eyes on him. I have been under 
the impression that you considered him only a simple 
peddler, and I came finally to look on him in the same 
light. Thought I was mistaken, you see ? I have found 
that impressions are not to be relied upon at all. And 
I want to be a sensible woman and learn to take care 
of myself and my property. You know mother willed 
me a little property which I have taken possession of. 
I am going to see if I can make money out of it, or 
make the ends meet, at least. Prince or no prince, 
I don't care much. But the man I will eventually 
marry, will have to be pretty much like that young 
Swede. But don't try to plan a love match. I am 
a hard-hearted business woman now, but my love 
for you is as true as ever. 

"Your loving Cora." 

The good trade which Swenson had established, 
enabled him to purchase the half interest in the 



HYPHENATED 31 

Columbus store business. The season was a rainy one, 
and he decided to rest up a while, work in the store, 
and give the horses a good rest. Mr. Adrian was seen 
to enter the store one night with a cup of fresh 
sweet milk. Sw^enson who wanted to talk some mat- 
ters over with him went after him. 

"Look out there," exclaimed Mr. Adrian, and pull- 
ed Swenson towards one side while he poured the 
milk in a saucer standing under the desk. The two 
men stood watching the saucer, when suddenly a big- 
rattlesnake approached the milk. It was a huge 
rattler thick and well fed, that lapped the milk with 
evident content. 

Swenson looked on in consternation. "Is that part 
of the business I have bought?" he managed to ask 
at last. 

Adrian nodded: "I guess so." 

"But you never said anything to me about him." 

"Well, you may consider him as a third party. Or 
a nightwatchman. I guess he catches the rats in the 
night-time. ' ' 

"It would not be a pleasant job for a robber to 
tackle the money safe with such a watchdog around, ' ' 
remarked Swenson. 

"I would rather have him, than a dog in here. This 
is the second year that he has been coming. He comes 



32 HYPHENATED 

in about nightfall and coils up under the desk. In 
the morning he is gone again. 77 

1 ' I hope he is not going to bring a curse on us, like 
the old snake did in the garden. ' ' 

"He has only brought us good luck so far. 

Although the young man was successful, well liked 
and made friends right and left, there were times 
when he was the victim of heavy depression. Sepa- 
rated from his relatives and old home, he could not 
help when a feeling of loneliness stole over him. True, 
he wrote letters home, and received prompt replies, 
but the letters seemed only to intensify the feeling. 
He tried to induce his uncle — one year older than 
himself — to come over and settle here, they would go 
in business together and would make money, he was 
sure; but something was always interfering with 
these plans. Thus went another year. Sam Houston 
was elected president again, people were flocking to 
Texas, and colonizing. Business ventures prospered, 
and Swenson in ratio with other people. The second 
"runaway scrape" in 1842, when the site of Govern- 
ment was removed to Houston on account of Indian 
depredation and the Mexican activities, even if the re- 
moval of the archives from Austin miscarried, made 
Swenson give up his big mercantile dream of getting 
in on the ground floor in the new Capital. 



HYPHENATED 33 

Dr. Long's remark, "Old Sam can do a heap, when 
he has a mind to," made Swenson think twice before 
deciding anything. 

Then a series of important things happened: 
First, the well educated, officially employed, liber- 
ally inclined uncle, the honorable, literature-loving Sir 
Swente Palm had decided to come over and throw in 
his lot with the young Republic. Was he a suitable 
man for this rough and ready life, which men had to 
put up with? Swenson almost regretted that he had 
invited him to come in such enthusiastic terms. He 
was such a bookworm, and so fastidious ! What if he 
was just an impractical dreamer? But any kinfolks 
were better than none, he felt. 

Then the store burned! Swenson hastened home 
when he heard the news. 

Yes, it was true. There were $8000 or $10,000 worth 
of merchandise in ashes. Account books, everything, 
and no insurance. "I knew something was going to 
happen," said Adrian, "ever since that rattler dis- 
appeared, I knew it would come. They robbed the 
safe first, and then set fire to the building. The 
flames broke out on four different places simultan- 
eously. ' ' 

"Wonder who they could be?" 

6 ' Oh, it was a gang of reckless gamblers over in the 
Capital. I am sure of that. It is a miracle they have 



34 HYPHENATED 

not robbed you on the highways long before this, 
Swenson." 

"And killed me on top of that." 

"Exactly!" 

"And you had all our eggs in one basket, Mr. 
Adrian?" 

" No ! I never touched what we sealed and put down 
in the northeast corner of the building. ' ' 

"We can start up again then in a short while." 

1 ' Yes, but the worst is, our old accounts. They have 
gone up in smoke." 

"Not mine. I have got them stored up here," and 
Swenson pointed to his forehead. "I can sit down 
today and write down every bill, goods and amount 
with name, and I am sure I will come within ninety- 
five points of hitting the mark. ' ' 

"I wish I could do that. 

1 ' Try to do it as well as you can, but let us go and 
dig in the northeast corner." 

The wooden box with the metal box packed down 
inside was unearthed and the rolls in gold counted a 
second time. How many twenty dollar gold coins in 
$500 rolls were packed in there will never be known, 
but it was not the first, nor the last, banking transac- 
tion of its kind that Swenson resorted to. 

Then came a lon^ letter from Dr. Long. It told 



HYPHENATED 35 

of his last hemorrhage, his feeble condition, his 
trouble with Benson, etc. 

"I know it looks selfish to load my own troubles 
on you at this time," — the letter ran — "you have no 
doubt enough to perplex you, but if you could take 
up my old proposition, I may have a fighting chance 
to hang on to life, perhaps for a good many years. 
Depressed and worried like I now am, it is sapping 
my strength and energy. 

' ' My wife, God bless her, is doing all that a woman 
can do to relieve me, but the effect is rather depress- 
ing, because we are trying to deceive each other as to 
outlooks, courage, and strength. When we get alone 
after a day's forced cheerfulness, I sob and sigh like 
a baby, and I know she does the same. Then there 
is Benson ! 

"Come up, my dear Swenson, over Sunday if you 
can, and let us talk it over. The salary will be no 
objection. Once more, forgive me my selfishness. 
"Yours for an early agreement, 

"Ed. Long." 

Then there was a settlement with Adrian. He was 
to build up the store again, and when Swenson 's uncle 
arrived he was to take Swenson 's place as a partner. 

It was in a pleasant mode of mind, mingled with 
sympathy for his sick friend that Swenson rode up 
toward Richmond, the latter part of the week. To 



36 HYPHENATED 

enjoy the privilege of living under the same roof, 
sitting at the same table, conversing occasionally with 
a beautiful refined, intelligent and good woman, seem- 
ed to Swenson's mind — hungry for refined surround- 
ings and tired to death of coarse, vulgar talk, and 
bachelor life — like moving next door to heaven. 

Did his thoughts go further? Who knows? And 
if they did go further, could he help it? But the 
deep sorrow that he felt like a shadow hanging over 
the young, beautiful wife's head forbade any such 
thoughts to nestle in his mind. He was sincerely de- 
voted to this singularly cultured and magnetic man, 
the Doctor, and felt himself willing to make great 
sacrifices, if it could only help his sick friend back 
to health. 

Did he come to tell them that he could stay? 

Swenson felt that the welcome he received from his 
hostess implied such a question. 

"Well, Mrs. Long," he said, "it looks like all you 
have to do is to wish right hard, and you can have 
what you want." 

"You can stay, can you?" 

"If you wish me to, yes." 

She gave him a searching glance. 

"Excuse me, madam," he said, blushing suddenly, 
"but anticipating the condition of the Doctor it was 



HYPHENATED 37 

a natural conclusion with me that it depended alto- 
gether on what you said or wished to be done." 

"Well, perhaps so. But if wishing hard could do 
anything, I would concentrate my wish day and night 
on Ed. getting well. But come up and see him. I 
think he has some fever this evening. ' ' 

The hemorrhage had reduced the white, pale com- 
plexion to a bluish marble, but the welcome smile was 
the same as ever. 

"And you have come to stay, Swenson?" 

"What made you think so, Doctor?" 

"Your prompt answer to my letter." 

"Well, I guess I can stay." 

"Then," with a sudden energy, "I can get well. 
Give me that hat and cane and we will go out for a 
stroll." 

"But, dear, Mr. Swenson must have lunch after 
his long drive. ' ' 

"Then I will join him," was the prompt reply. 

A new strength and interest in life seemed to possess 
Dr. Long and the fair young wife felt a genuine hope 
and joy that was not pretention any longer. 

Lunch over, the two men went out for a stroll. 
They went down to the overseer's house, but had to 
pass old Jack Burns' cabin. The Doctor told Burns 
the news of the new overseer coming, and the old 
darky's face fairly shone. 



38 HYPHENATED 

"Lawd a massy, ain't that going to be a fine time 
for dese nigers! I'se shore glad, Marse Swenson, 
to see you." , 

There was some quick " grapevine " telegraphy go- 
ing on between the cabins in a little while, and joyous 
exclamations could be heard now and then. 

Only Benson was surly and disagreeable. 

' ' What in H — 11 do you want a man to do this late 
in the fall ? Do you think I can move out in the road 
with my family. D — d if I 'm going to do it. ' ' 

"No profanity, Benson," observed Long. "You 
know I object to it. ' ' The Doctor was getting nervous, 
and changing color. Swenson thought it was time to 
interfere. 

"You are not strong enough, Doctor, to allow such 
a thing to irritate you. Come, let us postpone the 
settlement until we all get in a more agreeable mood. 
And," turning to Benson, "please don't use such 
language to the Doctor. Don't you see he is weak 
and exhausted?" 

He took the Doctor's arm under his, and started 
to walk back to the house. 

' ' Oh, the brute ! ' ' gasped the Doctor. ' ' I went down 
there to offer him good, acceptable terms, almost any- 
way he wanted them, and he don't even allow a man 
to talk on his own place, and finish the first sentence 
before he cuts him off. Well, that is the way he has 



HYPHENATED 39 

grown to treat me of late. I have been too weak and 
passive to insist on my rights. And he is too coarse 
to have any consideration. If he had insulted Mrs. 
Long, I don't know what would have happened." 

"Well, I would not let these memories hinder me 
from getting well," consoled Swenson. "You better 
let me settle with him, and not risk getting upset a 
second .time. It may cause a fresh hemorrhage you 
know. ' ' 

Swenson went with the Longs in the old family 
carriage to the Sunday morning service in Richmond, 
and was an agreeable companion to the friends and 
neighbors who visited the Long homestead, in the 
evening. Early Monday morning he was ready to go 
back to Columbus, with the promise to return at the 
end of the week. 

"I wish you would go down and see Benson, and 
make a settlement with him before you go, if possible. 
I had intended to offer him half of next year's wage, 
although I have made no contract with him — if he 
will move out peacefully. He can take his own time, 
just so he is agreeable and content. No hurry about 
moving. Tell him that. Tell him to have some con- 
sideration for my condition. And don't start any 
shooting scrape on the place, ' ' he added, when he saw 
Swenson strap two huge pistols by the belt. 



40 HYPHENATED 

Swenson smiled. "You don't want him to run me 
off the place, do you? I guess he is more coward and 
bluff than the real stuff. But it is best to be pre- 
pared. ' ' 

""Well, but don't shoot whatever you do. Any 
agreement and sacrifice rather than violence. You 
hear that, " 

"I will be careful, Doctor/' 

Benson was eating his breakfast when Swenson 
entered the house. He looked up with a frown. 

"Want something?" 

"Yes." 

"Well, what is it?" 

"I want a guarantee that you don't disturb Dr. 
Long and hurt his feelings like you did last Saturday 
night." 

"Want to get in a scrap?" 

' ' No, I want to save you one. ' ' 

Benson pushed the plate away from him and started 
to rise from the table. 

1 1 Sit down, Benson, ' ' said Swenson in pleasant tone, 
and took a chair himself. "Let us talk business like 
men. 

"There is enough rope and sentiment in favor of 
Dr. Long in this neighborhood to make your neck 
worth less than six bits, if his friends get to know 
the profanity and abusive language that you have 



HYPHENATED 41 

used when addressing the Doctor, during his illness 
recently. Have you thought of that? You are from 
Missouri, Benson, but I would hate to see you get into 
trouble without warning." 

Benson opened his mouth and shut it again. "Is 
that what you had such a confab about yesterday?" 
he managed to say at last. 

"Not at all. Dr. Long is too much of a gentleman 
to retaliate in such a manner, but I tell you, Benson, 
it will not be healthy for you in these parts when the 
rumor gets out. You know how such things travel, 
and grow. Listen to me a minute, Benson : I will pay 
you an overseer's wage and $100.00 on top of that 
if you will take my place in Columbus, while the 
store is being built and goods are hauled for the store. 
"When my uncle arrives he is going to have one room 
in my house in Columbus, otherwise you can occupy it 
free of charge. How will that suit you ? ' ' 

Benson thought hard for a minute. "What will 
you pay me to help my moving expenses?" he asked. 

"My goodness, man! is not the one hundred extra, 
enough to defray moving expenses ? ' ' 

"And if I refuse?" 

"That is your lookout. I am afraid you will find 
the risk greater than the pleasure or profit." 

"When can T start to work at Columbus?" 

1 ' The first of December will be all right, and if you 



42 HYPHENATED 

say so, I will notify Mr. Adrian of our agreement. ' ' 
So it was agreed upon, to the astonishment of Dr. 
Long, when he learned that the greedy Benson was 
satisfied with only one hundred dollars extra. Surely 
his opinion of Swenson's ability had not been over- 
rated. And so was the "almost perfect condition" 
which Long had so ardently wished for attained. 

Alas ! how we dream sometimes — and how the stream 
of reality changes it. 



CHAPTEE V 

PLANTATION LIFE. 

The wealth of a Southern plantation was its land, 
its slaves, and its cotton. An aristocracy was develop- 
ed that was almost as a class, opposed to the industrial 
ideals of the other sections of this country. The land 
was held in plantations and was cultivated by slaves 
in such a number that they would make a small 
village. 

On such a plantation order and system prevailed. 
There were field hands, house servants, carpenters, 
blacksmiths, gardeners, cobblers, teamsters, weavers, 
spinners, and engineers. Their life, comfort, and hap- 
piness were entirely in the hands of the ' * Marser and 
Mist 'ess," but between master and slaves was the 
white overseer. The responsibility was by no means 
small. Slaves were too valuable to be abused. One 
well trained slave was worth two thousand dollars 
in the South; and if a two hundred dollar horse 
elicited the sympathy and care of the master, certainly 
a valuable slave was well taken care of. Facts to the 



44 HYPHENATED 

contrary were exceptions, not rules, and the man who 
mistreated his slaves soon got to be looked upon and 
considered as a low, vulgar and coarse person. 

There were about forty slaves on the Finckley plan- 
tation, some bought with the place, others brought by 
the Longs from Tennessee. Among the former were 
some brought direct from Africa, captured and resold 
as slaves to American planters. The crime of depriv- 
ing human beings of their liberty and enslaving them 
for life cannot be too strongly condemned (just like 
the liquor traffic of today), but if you, my dear en- 
lightened reader, could have seen the poor brutes, 
who were once captured in a tribal war, in 
darkest Africa, before they were recaptured and 
brought to America; if you could have seen their 
cheeks with their white streaks or scars, cut once in 
slits, with a fine rope inserted, so they could be tied 
to something to prevent their escape — you would not 
have thought the slavery on this continent the worst 
thing that could befall a negro. These wounds healed 
again, it is true, but the white scars told a mute 
story of terrible African conditions indescribable. 
There are two sides to everything in life, even to the 
slavery question. 

According to an old description: The Ante Bellum 
days with their plantation life were not so intoler- 
able; on an old plantation — and their number were 



HYPHENATED 45 

legion — where the slaves had been in the family for 
generations many masters would not permit families 
to be separated, and no one was sold — unless it was a 
vicious slave. There was an attachment for ' ' Marster ' ' 
and "Mist 'ess," and a unity of plantation life, that 
could not be destroyed, even by the great war. In 
some instances slaves did not care for freedom and 
would not have it when freedom came. 

The slaves lived in cabins containing from one to 
three rooms, depending on the size of the family. 
Pinks, phlox, bachelor buttons, princess feathers, but- 
tercups, and other flowers blossomed around the door- 
steps. To these cabins would the children of the 
master go to hear old negroes like "Uncle Remus" 
tell tales of ghosts and animals. The master and 
mistress would come to inspect the home, and insist 
on cleanliness and sanitation. 

The social life was not lacking. Parties were given. 
Religious meetings were held. On Saturday nights 
and Sundays there was an exchange of visits from 
neighboring plantations, and at marriages and fun- 
erals often the master and his family supervised and 
attended. 

All the children used to call the old negroes "uncle" 
and "aunt." The negroes called each other "brer" 
and "sis." such a title having reference to church 
relationship. The children of the home were con- 



46 HYPHENATED 

stantly with the servants. They rode and played 
together, and at mealtime, again would the children 
run away to "old Auntie" to get some choice morsel 
to eat. To see the faithful nurse holding a feverish 
childish form close to her bosom all through the 
night, never tiring or complaining, seemed to justify 
the declaration from a Southern author: "If love 
and fidelity constitute any basis for a future morality 
and efficiency, then there is hope for the negro race." 

The planters themselves were usually people of good 
birth, well educated, refined, hospitable and consider- 
ate. Not a few were judges, lawyers, doctors or public 
officers. To meet a Southern gentleman was and is 
still, a pleasure. To converse or do business with 
such a man was enjoyable. The stock has not died out 
yet. You find them here and there, and admire them 
as much as ever. 

The pioneer women and wives used to a frontier life 
of danger and hardships were a characteristic class. 
They could run the place in the absence of their hus- 
bands, defend it against Indians, give assistance in 
times of trouble, and provide for the needs of the 
household without visiting the store every week. In 
fact, ninety per cent of household necessities were 
provided for at home. Coffee, tea and sugar, tobacco, 
whiskey and medicines, hardware and salt, were neces- 
sities when money was plantiful, and luxuries when 



HYPHENATED 47 

money was scarce. The colonies along the Brazos 
up to Bastrop were considered old established set- 
tlements with a comparatively high civilization, and 
secure from Indian depredation in the forties, but one 
of Reub Hornsby's sons was killed nine miles below 
Austin by Indians as late as 1845. 

Swenson found himself in congenial surroundings 
on the Finckley plantation. The arrival of his uncle 
Swente Palm was a great event. With his cane in 
hand, broadcloth dress, and high silk hat, he looked 
singularly out of place. He spoke an impossible 
English, but could write, read, and translate it to per- 
fection, besides he spoke French, Latin, German, 
and the Scandinavian dialects. He was the book- 
worm all right. He was only fit for office work and 
such things, to be sure, but he was a kinsman, neverthe- 
less. They had so much to talk over, to plan for, to 
calculate, that it seemed like they would never get 
through. At the insistance of the Longs, Palm was a 
guest there for several weeks. Between the two men 
was cemented a friendship and mutual interests which 
lasted till near the end of the 19th century, when they 
both died. 

The honorable Swente Palm had, besides a good 
general education, also musical talents; played the 
cornet, flute, guitar, and organ. He was of medium 
height, delicate, wore glasses, and had a punctual, 



48 HYPHENATED 

careful way of attending to business. Later, in the 
sectional strife that rent the country in twain, he was 
known and classed as one of the Union leaders, to- 
gether with such men as Morgan Hamilton, Sam 
Harris, Sam Houston, Judge Morrel, and the Han- 
cocks. 



CHAPTER VI 
"I TOLD YOU SO." 

The seat of government was once more established 
at Austin. The seed of jealousy which "Old Sam" 
had sown so slyly, was growing into such a vigorous 
sentiment at Washington, D. C, that rather than 
allow the English Crown to annex Texas or play the 
protector of the young Republic, it was thought best 
to have it annexed as a state and be done with it. Dr. 
Anson Jones — President of Texas — called a conven- 
tion to meet at Austin on July 4, 1845. The conven- 
tion voted almost unanimously for annexation. It 
was a year crowded with events. The air was full of 
speculation and forecasts as to the probable outcome 
of this tremendous upheaval. "War with Mexico was 
predicted, also a tremendous prosperity as a result of 
the annexation. And many a wise head had the op- 
portunity in later years to say: "I told you so/' 

Swenson and Palm were quiet observers of all that 
was going on. There was much to learn and much 
to unlearn. The evolution of the young empire — as 



50 HYPHENATED 

it has often been called — was not along old established 
lines. Sentiments, plans and resolutions — like rivers 
during an overflow — often went along new channels. 
The "kink" was to learn the general trend of things, 
catch hold, exercise stickability, and have something 
to bail with when good things were at floodstage. 

"Ill tell you, Palm," said Swenson at one time 
when they had met for a talk, ' ' I am sure the best in- 
vestments and returns are in land. It is comparatively 
cheap now, but with this immigration going on, it 
is bound to go up. Let us invest in cheap land right 
along whenever we can. It cannot burn. It cannot 
be stolen, if you have a good title. There are no 
taxes to pay, and when you trade or want to sell, it 
is always available." 

Palm mused a moment: "To my mind, merchan- 
dise is the surest thing. All these people that move 
in, have to live. They have to buy goods in order to 
get along, and the merchants who have the goods get 
the profit. If we could go in on a grand scale in the 
capital city, and have a great mercantile business, I 
am sure w r e could make money." 

"Perhaps so," admitted Swenson, "but suppose 
they change the site of the capital again. You can 
never tell with certainty what they are going to do 
in this country." 

"One thing is certain, Swenson, it will never be re- 



HYPHENATED 51 

moved to Columbus again. That little town will never 
amount to anything, and I think it was a mistake to 
rebuild there. The climate is not healthy either. You 
have to use quinine all the time to ward off malaria, 
I wish to move to a town with a higher altitude, be- 
fore my health breaks down. 

"Then again, Swenson, have you thought of land 
values, when all these slaves are set free?" 

"Set free?" 

"Yes, don't you know, it was always one of the 
standing objections in Congress, that Texas was one 
of the slave holding countries. That was the reason 
they hesitated so long about admitting us as a State 
in the Union. Arid don't you know they are going 
to be set free, sooner or later? What are your land 
values going to amount to when you have no hands 
to till the soil?" 

"You have the advantage of an observant and 
educated mind, Palm, I admit that, but these things 
are not going to take place for a long while. And, 
besides, don't the negroes need land if they are set 
free?" 

"Yes, if they were only capable of directing and 
taking care of themselves. But you know what would 
happen, if the white man was not there to supervise 
the work." 



52 HYPHENATED 

"111 tell you what, Palm, let's tie two strings to 
one bow. Merchandise and investment. ' ' 

1 ' One of them is going to win ; both can 't fail, and 
if you want to move to La Grange and transfer our 
part of the Columbus business to that place, 111 give 
my consent. I have already invested some money in 
a tract of land adjoining the Long estate, and I am 
going to improve it as fast as I can get the money/ ' 

"And how is Dr. Long's health?" 

1 l Getting worse, I am afraid. He has had two more 
hemorrhages since I came here. He is nothing but 
a shadow now." 

So the two men talked and planned together. 

On the Long estate everything went with smooth 
precision under Swenson's management. But in the 
"big house" there was sadness and depression. 

The Doctor was sitting on the piazza, propped up 
with pillows in a rocker. 

"Don't you know of any medicine, Ed, that could 
cure this disease?" inquired the young wife, with 
clasped hands. 

The Doctor smiled feebly. 

1 ' Nothing but a high altitude like New Mexico, Ari- 
zona or Colorado would do me any good, but how 
could I get there? That is the question. Before 
I got half way, I would be a dead man. ' ' 

She looked up at him with horror in her eyes. 



HYPHENATED 53 

"You don't mean that you are going to die?" 

He smiled again, the rare, beautiful reflex of a 
mind which is at peace with its Maker, mankind, 
himself, and circumstances. 

"Haven't we all got to die, little wife?" he said 
gently. 

"Yes Ed, but you could live a little longer accord- 
ing to the common rules of life. Why can't we go 
home, to Tennessee?" 

1 ' For the same reason, little wife, I would be a dead 
man before we got there." 

"But what will become of me if you die?" she 
asked with a forced calmness, but with a quivering 

up. 

"Well," he said huskily, laying his hand on her 
white w r ell formed one, "I have longed for such a 
talk quite a w r hile, but I have been afraid, little 
one, that you would or could not listen—" 

Some Jay birds were hopping up and down in 
the trees by the piazza quarreling and setting up their 
shrill, piercing cries. 

"Say, can't you stop them or chase them away," 
he asked wearily. 

"Say, Dinah, can't you shoo those noisy birds 
away? They bother the Doctor so by their noise," 
Mrs. Long called to a red bandana appearing and 
disappearing again behind the corner. 



54 HYPHENATED 

A shining, fat, ebony black woman came out from 
behind with a half-picked chicken in one hand. 

"Deed I can, Mistess, " and immediately set up 
a falsetto shoo-fly, that could be heard all over the 
place, and caused the wandering cows up in the pas- 
ture to lift up their heads, listening, and wondering 
if it could be milking time so soon. 

"Thar is dat lazy, good-fer-nuthin nigger, sleepin' 
under dat shed out in de garden. Call hisself gar- 
dener. I'll call him to keep them away, Mistess. 
I'se got to get that broth ready for Marse Long, 7 ' 
and off she went, the birds hopping back as soon as 
she left, making a worse noise than ever. 

1 ' I declare, ' ' said the Doctor, with irritation in his 
voice, "they make me tired." 

1 i Can you shoo them away, Joe ? ' ' 

"I shore can, Mistess," he said, setting up a ter- 
rible yell, and clapping his hands furiously. 

"My gracious, Joe! You make a worse racket than 
the birds," said Mrs. Long. 

"Yes mam, I shore do," he said. 

"Can't you throw rocks at them?" 

"Yes mam, if I only could find some." 

1 ' Throw some sticks then. ' ' 

The birds quarreled with him, moved away a little 
bit and, when they had lured him away from the 



HYPHENATED 55 

house, there they were back again on their favorite 
place. 

"As I was saying/' the Doctor continued, "there 
is no remedy known for this disease. The hemor- 
rhages I have had so far have been of a less serious 
character because it has been only small blood ves- 
sels, but if one of the larger arteries should burst, 
then" — looking her full in the face — "I might be 
a dead man in a little while. It will strangle me 
then. There is no use to send for anybody. No one 
can help me then, but the Eternal G-od in whom I 
trust. You will not make a scene then, but let me 
die in peace, holding my hand in yours while I pass 
away. Won't you promise me, dear?" 

She looked up, her eyes swimming in tears. She 
swallowed hard, but no sound came. She patted his 
feeble hand, but could only — for his sake — control 
herself from bursting out in a wild heart-rending 
cry. 

"Then," he resumed, "there is my will, written 
and deposited — together with my other papers — in 
the iron chest of Mr. Walter's over in Richmond. It 
gives you undisputed possession of the whole estate. 
There is no incumbrance on it. I want you to keep it 
for one year after my death, about that time you 
will know your own mind. 

"After that, you can do with it as you please. 



56 HYPHENATED 

Only be happy and don't try to grieve your life 
away. You are young yet, and life is before you. 
Listen to the advice of Rev. Gillespie, but decide for 
yourself. I think you will find Swenson an honest, 
efficient overseer. And above all, my dear, believe 
that the Almighty God who has made us so happy 
in our union, is also able to sustain you in your sor- 
row. ' 9 

She had raised herself from her sitting position as 
if to interrupt him. 

" Don't say anything rebellious now, jafter this 
quiet, refreshing talk." 

"Refreshing?" 

Yes, for his sake, for his peace of mind, she would 
keep quiet, and not say anything. But she must go 
to her room and have it out with herself and her 
God. Face this greatest of sorrows with Him who 
created these wonderful emotions, and then bade us 
go out in the tempest of the world and battle with 
demons, temptations, circumstances, foes and even 
friends, sometimes, and then come home in the twi- 
light of life and enter His rest — conqueror. To be 
sure the Doctor had made the good fight. If any 
man were going to have a crown, he was worthy of 
one. But for her, there seemed to be a road, oh, so 
long, weary, and thorny, dark and dreary! 



HYPHENATED 57 

"Oh, God," she sobbed, "let me die also, and be 
buried with him." 

Yet, who can subdue the emotions of the soul, and 
the trouble which only the heart knows. 

But out in the yard, under the trees, was old Joe 
running to and fro "shooing" quietly and throwing 
sticks at the Jay birds while they scolded and sassed 
back at him. 

"What is that fool a 'doing?" asked Swenson, when 
he came home from his ride in the fields ? 

"Lord a massy," said Aunt Dinah, "dat fool nig- 
ger been tryin' for nigh two hours to chase dem 
birds away. An' dey jus laf and laf at him. Lis- 
sen at 'em lafin and a lafin. But dis chile knows 
bedder dan dat. Dem's de debetis (deputies) shore's 
I live. I knows." 

"What is that, Aunty?" 

"Don't you know dem debetis, Marse Swenson! 
Dey been here mighty nigh all day an' a scoldin' an' a 
callin' for somebody. But I knows. Oh, you can't 
fool me, I knows." 

"Who is calling, Aunty?" 

' ' Dem debetis. Lord a massey, don ' I member way 
back in Tinessee. Masser Long's f adder, de Capteen? 
I mity nigh raised dat boy myse'f. " 

"Who?" 

"De Doctor, bless your soul. An' de Capt'n get- 



58 HYPHENATED 

tin' old an' feeble like. An' one day dem birds cum 
roun' de big house a scoldin' an' a lafin' an' a callin. ' 
'Look out,' sez I, 'callin' sumbody.' That's whut I 
sed. An' nex mornin' Capt'n was a dead man." 

"Nonsense, Dinah!" 

"Wal, you look out, Marse Swenson, an' you'll see 
an' member I told you so." 

And Aunt Dinah stalked indignantly away to the 
kitchen. 

1 ' White folks don ' know nothin ', ' ' she murmured to 
herself, "but you will see see — " 

Outside, poor old Joe was running and throwing 
sticks at the birds in the twilight, until he had driven 
them behind the barns and cow lots, then they flew 
down to the timber, took a round-about course and 
came back and settled for the night, in the big cypress 
tree beside the house. But Joe concluded that his 
herding job was over for that day. 

Dr. Long wanted to see Swenson that night. The 
two men had a long confidential talk on various sub- 
jects. The Doctor explained his condition and what 
he had told his wife. 

"And if I should pass away suddenly, I want you 
to know that you are to remain on the place and run 
it for another year. You have my written author- 
ity to collect money, handle the funds and make 



HYPHENATED 59 

sales over an entire twelve month period, reckoned 
from the end of that year in which I may die." 

"But my dear Doctor — " 

" Don't interrupt me, Swenson ; if at the end of that 
twelve month period my wife wants to renew the 
contract for another year, it is my wish that you do 
so if you can and are so disposed. I have learned 
to trust you, Swenson, and there is no one that I 
can think of, whom I should prefer to you. ' ' 

"But, Doctor—" 

c ' One word more, Swenson. I leave my wife with- 
out any relations. She will probably ask your ad- 
vice about many things, and have to depend on you 
for everything" — he rose up with difficulty and 
groped about for Swenson 's hand. "My dear Swen- 
son" — his voice seemed to choke — "see to it that she 
is protected in every way a true lady should be 
shielded — from humiliations and scandals." 

Swenson stiffened and sobered. 

"I think I know my place, and my duties toward 
a lady," he said, with dignity. "I have not been 
lacking in these things since coming here, and I 
don't intend to change them in the future either." 

1 ' I beg your pardon, Swenson. I did not intend to 
insult. My God, you must not take it that way. ' ' 

"I won't take it as an insult, Doctor, if my assur- 
ance will set you at ease. But if you will mistrust 



60 HYPHENATED 

after this declaration, then, I will feel insulted. But 
this conversation is painful, Doctor. I don't see what 
makes you talk this way tonight. ' ' 

"Well, it never hurt a man to look a thing straight 
in the face, when he has to meet up with it sooner or 
later anyhow. I wanted very much to have this talk 
with you, Swenson. I don't know when my call may 
come. ' ' 

"But you will live a long time yet, Doctor. It is 
painful to hear you talk that way. This is the first 
home-like place I have lived at for over eight years, 
or ever since I came to this country. I have enjoyed 
your company, manners, conversation, employment 
and everything. I make less money, but enjoy life 
more the way I am now living, and I wish you to 
live a good long while yet." 

""Well, I must admit it is a very pleasant assur- 
ance that you are not tired of my company, but I 
may tax your patience yet. We never know how much 
trouble we are going to be before we are done. Well 
good night, Swenson. If I need you during the night 
I will strike the bell." 

"Goodnight, Doctor." 

Coming out of the hall he met the bulky form of 
Aunt Dinah. 

"Say, Marse Swenson, how you think de Doctor is 
comin' 'long?" 



HYPHENATED 61 

"He is all right, Dinah." 

' ' Come out here, Marse Swenson, and 1 11 show you 
sumpin'." 

"Well, what is it?" 

"You hea' sumpin' up dat tree?" 

"I hear some birds snickering and chirping. 
"Well?" 

"Wal, dem debetis cum back. Dat fool nigger, Joe, 
he bin chasin' dem all evenin' throwin' sticks at dem, 
an' when he's done, back dey cum. I tell you, Marse 
Swenson, dem debetis eallin' fo' somebody." 

"Maybe they got a call for you, Aunty?" 

"Lawd a massy! what makes you talk like dat? 
I ain't ailin'," and the white part of Dinah's eyes 
fairly rolled around. 

"But I will tell you Dinah what I think. There 
are some berries or bugs or something the birds 
like around the house, and they are going to taste it 
out before they leave, that's my belief. Don't you 
go fooling around here and tell Mrs. Long or the Doc- 
tor any fool stories. If you do I will see to it that 
you will be the first nigger sold from the place this 
fall." 

"Lawd a massy, Marse Swenson, I'll keep mum lak 
a daid turkey. Scuse me, Marse, scuse dis po' ole 
good-fo' nuthin' nigger." 



62 HYPHENATED 

"Well, don't you say anything to the other hands 
either." 

"Deed I won't. Deed no." 

But the bird was out. There were glances from 
frightened eyes, whimpers, communications and com- 
ments of some mysterious nature, and all revolved 
around old stupid Joe and the few remarks that he 
made on the bird chase. 

"An' dey is debetis?" 

"Dats what Dinah sez." 

"An' dey is callin' someun?" 

"Lawd, dey jus' been a callin' an' a callin' all de 
evenin '. ' ' 

' l Someun goin ' to die shore. ' ' 

"Shore's yo' bawn." 

"Yas, dey is jus' gwine to fetch yo' ole good fur 
nuttin niggers, sittin' here and telling fool stories fur 
niggers dat ought to be asleep." And old Dinah 
fairly stampeded the poor superstitious, already 
scared, negroes with her sudden presence. 

"Lawd, how you scared me, Sis Armstrong." 

"I'se gwine to skeer yer fool mouth till it shets 
up. Marse Swenson ses he's gwine to sell de fust 
nigger dat sez one word 'bout dem birds. I say, 
shet up all yow niggers, yew. Shet up dis blessed 
minnit. D'ye hear me?" 



HYPHENATED 63 

Aunt Dinah talked as though she had her small 
children around her once more. 

She was respected because of her standing in the 
big house, and all choice morsels of gossip came 
through Aunt Dinah. It was very seldom that she 
gave such imperative energetic orders, and consterna- 
tion and silence reigned immediately. 

In this enlightened age we hear more of " lucky 
days," " lucky numbers/' "bad signs," than ever 
before. Superstition seems to be rampant at home, 
while at the same time we send missionaries and 
Bibles to convert the superstitious (?) heathens. A 
few doses of our own medicine here at home would 
not be out of the way. And yet there are coincidences 
in life that seem to verify the superstitious claims 
that are set up from time to time. And all the ex- 
planations or coincidences in the world could not 
convince the negroes on Dr. Long's plantation that 
the jaybirds were not a bad omen. How could they 
believe otherwise? 

Early next morning Mrs. Long was called away 
to visit a sick friend. She had learned a little about 
sickness and the use of medicines from the Doctor, 
and the two men were left sitting at the break- 
fast table conversing about the work on the planta- 
tion, when Dr. Long had a sudden pain in the chest. 
The tightness and shortness of breath warned him 



64 HYPHENATED 

that something was wrong ; then the hemorrhage came. 

1 ' Help me to lie down on the lounge," he gasped. 
"Water! Mrs. L — o — n — g, send — " he groped about 
for Swenson's hand while Swenson called for Dinah 
to assist. The blood was filling his mouth, nose and 
throat. He fixed his eyes on Swenson, while Swen- 
son gave orders to send for Mrs. Long immediately. 
His grip tightened on Swenson's hand, a few spas- 
modic jerks and he lost consciousness. The red blood 
continued to flow, the pulse and heart pulsated feebly, 
when Mrs. Long — breathless from her fast riding, 
burst into the room and fell on her knees beside the 
lounge. But why try to describe the scene, or the in- 
tonation with which she repeated over and over again : 

"So you were not even granted the privilege of 
holding my hand while passing through the valley of 
death. 

"My dear, my noble, my precious Ed. I could not 
even hold your hand. Oh, why couldn't I have stayed 
with you and held your hand, at least. That was your 
last, your only wish. Only to hold my hand!" 

Swenson was standing at the window, looking for 
the neighbors to arrive, that he had sent for. He 
hardly knew whether to try to console her or not. 
He heard as one in a dream — how Dinah tried to tell 
her that Swenson had held Dr. Long's hand, and 



HYPHENATED 65 

ministered to him to the last, but she heard not and 
answered not. The neighbors arrived, the funeral 
was discussed, the time of the funeral set; but she 
paid no attention to anything. Swenson had to at- 
tend to all details. There was a private burial place 
on the plantation. Under one of the great liveoaks 
the grave was dug by the slaves. 

Old Burns remarked to the hands working under 
him: 

"Tell ye what, boys, des lak I'se diggin' my own 
grave." 

"It shore is," they all echoed back. 

The genuine deep grief of the slaves, the sympathy 
and help offered by kind neighbors, the impressive, 
costly funeral conducted by Reverend Gillespie, and 
among all, the central figure, the widow, whose grief 
seemed to have turned her to stone, all were touch- 
ing in the extreme. But no grief was more loud and 
violent than Aunt Dinah's. She had nursed him and 
cared for him and cooked for him, and now he was 
dead and gone. She was almost reckless with her 
grief when she met Swenson in the hall after the 
funeral, in the twilight. 

"What did I tell you, Marse Swenson? What 
did I tell you las' night?" 

"Yes, Dinah. Do you remember what I told you 



66 HYPHENATED 

about saying anything to Mrs. Long about those birds ? 
Do you hear ? Not one word ! ' ' 

"Yas, sah." 

But it seemed to him that every hand on the plan- 
tation pointed their finger at him behind his back and 
whispered : 

"I TOLD YOU SO." 



CHAPTEE VII 

A NEW ORDER OF THINGS 

In his farewell address, delivered February 16, 
1846, President Jones declared that "The Republic 
of Texas is no more." But he thought — and the ma- 
jority with him — it was better to be a part of the 
great American Union than to remain independent. 
Then followed the war with Mexico in which eight 
thousand soldiers from Texas participated, which was 
a far greater number than was furnished by any other 
State. The population of Texas by this time had 
increased to about 100,000 white people, besides 35,000 
slaves. The immigration from the North continued. 
Germans moved into the new State in great num- 
bers. Swenson and Palm discussed the outlook. 

"Why can't we induce our folks to come over and 
settle here just as well as these Germans?" Swenson 
wondered. 

"Well, I know of one girl I would like to see im- 
migrate/' said Palm. 

"Oh, you mean Captain Alnus' daughter?" 



68 HYPHENATED 

"Yes, but how is a man going to manage it so as 
to offer a refined young lady of good family a decent 
home in these wild little towns?" 

"I guess you better move to Austin and get in 
with the Governor and politicians. Then you will be 
near where the style and the big folks congregate. 
But I am thinking of Uncle Anders with his six boys ! 
and Uncle Grustav with his growing family; why 
can't we help them to come over? There is that 
land alongside of the Long Plantation. They could 
settle on that and improve it." 

1 ' Have you had any letter from Mrs. Long lately ? ' ' 

"Yes, about one every month." 

"And how is the courtship progressing?" 

"Courtship?" 

"Yes, don't you know that they all say you had 
it planned long before Dr. Long died." 

"And Mrs. Long, of course, conspired with me 
while her husband lived? Is that so?" 

' ' Yes, that 's why you went there as overseer. ' ' 

Swenson chuckled! 

"I don't believe these people believe the story 
themselves. There is not a fourpenny nail for a peg 
to hang any such rumor on. I never spoke to her after 
the Doctor's death, except in the presence of others. 
She stayed with others, or neighbors came and stayed 



HYPHENATED 69 

with her until she went to Tennessee. It is ri- 
diculous. ' ' 

' ' But they think it a good and proper match. ' ' 

"Yes, and if the match comes off, they would be 
ready to hang me for it, next day. 7 ' 

"But she ought to be good enough for you." 

"Heaven knows she is and more too. She is a 
pure, good, refined woman, way above any scandal." 

"But wouldn't you marry her if you had a 
chance?" 

' ' Are you her spokesman ? ' ' 

1 ' I only know what she writes to others. She seems 
to have a high opinion of you, Swenson." 

"And ' presto,' there is a love match made out of 
it." 

"Well, rumor is often the forerunner of the real 
thing." 

"Well I'm getting tired of the rumor. I'm glad 
Mrs. Long is out of harm's way." 

"But you cannot prevent some rumor from reach- 
ing her. I warn you, Swenson, from as much as 
squinting out of the corner of one eye, at any young 
girl around here, if you want a chance with her. Let 
them write her that you are lonesome, with a wist- 
ful look on your face; that you seldom smile, and 
mingle very little with other people. Then they can- 
not help adding: "He seems to be longing for you." 



70 HYPHENATED 

1 ' c They ! ' ' them ! ' Oh, you are impossible, Palm, 
and I will be irritated if thk keeps on. Go to bed and 
let them alone for a few hours.' ' 

"You are not offended at me, Swenson?" 

"No, but I am almost mad at them. "Why can't 
they let people alone?" 

While Palm went to bed, Swenson went to his room. 
He sat down at his desk, writing and making entries 
and memoranda. Then he pulled out a letter of re- 
cent date and started to read it for the third time. 
"My dear Swenson: 

"More than six months have passed since I left 
Texas to visit my cousin, Miss McCready. The visit 
has done me good — more than I can tell you. When 
I recovered from the great sorrow that, like a hard 
blow, almost stunned me, I found myself unbal- 
anced, listless, and without any interest in life. This 
apathy to my duties lasted for months after I got 
here. Hence my short letters and little interest in 
the plantation. 

"After my awakening — as I call it — I am seeing 
things in a different light. I have seemed ungrate- 
ful, I am afraid, to my friends, who evidenced all the 
sympathy one human could show another. Allow me 
to thank you for your thoughtfulness and care, out- 
side of your regular duties. No relative could have 
done more, or have done it better. I know now. and 



HYPHENATED 71 

realize that you held the hand of the Doctor in his 
last moments. It seems to me that you did that act 
for me, in my stead. That all these sad duties and 
changes, as a result of the Doctor's death, were 
handled with so small inconvenience to myself, I see 
now it was on account of your care, faithfulness, and 
promptness. I wish I could repay you in some way. 

"My dear Swenson, do you remember the young 
girl, Cora McCready, who stayed wtih us two years 
ago? She went back to Tennessee a short while be- 
fore you came to the place as overseer. It is with 
her I am staying most of my time. She is unmarried 
yet. No suitor has found favor with her yet. I 
think I know that she liked you two years ago. What 
she thinks or feels today I do not know. 

"But why could you not marry my cousin, rent 
the plantation and ' live happy ever after. ' You could 
let me have my rooms and I could go and come like 
I wanted. I like to see people around me happy. And 
to make you both happy would be my best way of re- 
paying you. It will soon be time to make some ar- 
rangement about the plantation for the coming year. 
Let me hear from you soon. 

"Your mischievous friend, 

"Jeanette Long." 

Swenson mused on the contents of the letter long 
and intently. It was past midnight, but there was 



72" HYPHENATED 

no sleep for him. He might as well have it out now 
as later on. It was nine months from the death of 
the Doctor, it was true, but something had to be 
done. So he wrote an answer: 
"Dear Madam: 

"The interesting letter I received from you May 
26th, proved to me beyond a doubt that you are get- 
ting to be your own self again. What a joy and 
satisfaction this is to us all down here you can hardly 
imagine. Everything is in fine shape on the planta- 
tion. Health is good, and the weather almost ideal 
for crops and work. I hope this will interest you 
again and cause you to come down and see about 
things once more, like you used to. Do what I may, 
it is a one-sided affair for one man to care for all the 
details in and outside the house. It is true, you have 
a good loyal set of servants and Dinah is an excellent 
cook, but I can see that she needs the hands and eyes 
of the mistress to guide her. 

"What you say about Miss Cora McCready strikes 
me as a faint dream, that I met her somewhere, but 
what you said about marriage is an impossibility. I 
must know the woman I marry. I cannot trust the 
welfare of two lives in the hands of a third party. 
This would be mischief indeed. Miss McCready is 
no doubt an excellent woman, but you stand first in 



HYPHENATED 73 

my mind as a model for what a good woman should 
and can be. 

"Now I have said it! I have said, what I hardly 
dared to admit to myself. But this is the silent, deep 
and strong desire of my life from day to day. 

"Can't you see that my silence, my reverence, my 
anxiety for your welfare, my effort to shield you from 
all embarrassment, had as a main-spring my silent 
worship of you. I enjoyed being in your home, 
in your presence, in yours and Dr. Long's ser- 
vice. It was happiness to me to see you happy, and 
you know that not one word or act from me marred 
your happiness. And, when your husband was dead, 
whom we both loved so well, I did not do anything 
that could embarrass you. A coarse nature would 
have done it, but I have tried to be worthy of your 
respect — I don't dare to say love yet. Let me serve 
you, worship you, adore you, but don't try to force 
any fetters on me in addition to those I voluntarily 
wear. 

"Understand, my dear, beloved Mrs. Long, that if 
you but say one word of silence on this subject, I will 
not embarrass you with a second communication like 
this. But we need you on the plantation. 
"Your faithful servant, 

"S. M. Swenson." 



74 HYPHENATED 

Palm had moved to La Grange and transferred the 
holdings of the Columbus store partnership to that 
town, where he soon became postmaster for a term 
of years. He spent all his leisure time in reading and 
his profits in buying books. He read and studied con- 
tinually, and put success in business in second place. 
The Palm brothers in Sweden — Anders and Gustav 
— were afraid of the journey to such an out of the 
way place as Texas. Besides, was not there a bloody 
war going on with Mexico? And a revolution of 
government every ten years or so? What would come 
next? Perhaps they would all be beheaded some of 
these days? No, let well enough alone. "A bird in 
hand is better than ten in the tall timber." Why 
couldn't Palm and Swenson come home on a visit. 
Perhaps then they might change their mind and go 
to Texas with them. But they must talk it over 
with them first, etc. 

"I know I will have to go home and see them/' 
said Swenson. "It is a journey full of danger and 
hardship to them. And the future seems uncertain. 
I don't blame them. Next spring I will try to go 
home and come back in the fall. I think young 
Dyer can manage the place for a few months during 
summer and fall." 

Then came a letter from Mrs. Long again: 
"My dear Swenson: 



HYPHENATED 75 

"Your answer to my letter of May 26th at hand. 
Glad to hear you are all well, and that weather and 
season are favorable, but sorry to hear that you need 
a head in the house so bad, and that I was only 
brewing mischief. I am glad to say Cora does not 
know anything about my proposition, and if you are 
not sorry, no harm is done, I hope. 

"Your declaration of reverence and worship was 
not a surprise exactly. Don't you know your whole 
action, your words and sentiments have testified to 
that fact. But I respect you from the depths of 
my heart, and I admire you and your staunch char- 
acter. 

"You know there will never be peace for a young 
widow until she is ' taken care of' and I am overrun 
with young sapheads here that have no discretion. I 
am tired of it. The letters from some matrimonial 
candidates in Texas are of the same stripe. And they 
threaten to come up here and marry me willy nilly. 

"My dear Swenson, you know that a second mar- 
riage can never be as romantic as the first, but when 
I look over my suitors, there is no one that I trust, 
respect, and look up to like you. If you are satisfied 
with what I can give of such affections, I am your 
beloved, 

"Jeanette Long." 



76 HYPHENATED 

"P. S. — Miss McCready and I will arrive in Hous- 
ton sometime in the latter part of September. Shep- 
herd will let you know. ' ' 

"Wonder what's got in de haid of Marse Swen- 
son, " confided Dinah to Burns one evening. "He 
talks 'bout paintin' the house inside and outside, an' 
a paperin', an' a clarin' up, and a plantin 'in de 
garden, and fixin' de fence and de carrage, and put- 
tin ' gravel on de walks, and a fixing de gates. AY 'at 
you think, Brer Burns?" 

Burns scratched his kinky head. 

"Deed, Sis Armstrong, I dunno what is up. Meb- 
be the Mis'tes comin' back." 

"Jes whut I sez, but who is coinmin' wid her, is 
what I lak to know?" 

"Do you think she is gwine ter bring a husband?" 

"Cose I think. A purty lady lak Mis'tes is gwine 
ter hab a husban'." 

"I hope tew goodness he will be a good mi." 

"Jess what I sez too." 

Swenson coaxed, bribed, scolded and praised his 
hands alternately, and promised them unheard of 
things in reward for a good work done on the plan- 
tation. The crop was to be laid by early, then a 
wholesale clean-up of the negro quarters was to take 
place. Whitewashing was planned on a large scale. 



HYPHENATED 77 

A general overhauling was to be inaugurated. Swen- 
son's energy and good will was infectuous. 

Down at Mrs. Long's famous boarding house where 
the " elite " congregated, Swenson's activities were 
discussed. 

"Who is Mrs. Long going to marry ?" wondered a 
wealthy planter's son, who was a rejected suitor. 

"They say she will be home soon with her new 
husband. ' ' 

"Swenson is overhauling the place from top to 
bottom/' said one. 

"He thought that he was going to draw the lucky 
bean, but she lit out before he got a chance to pro- 
pose." 

"Where does he come from anyhow?" 

"Comes from Scandinavia." 

"Where is that?" 

"Don't you know, Sweden?" 

"It is up in the Arties where they have the mid- 
night sun for three months in summer." 

"Well I declare!" 

"And the Norsemen came here, they claim, and 
discovered America long before Columbus had sense 
enough to know his daddy's name." 

"Great people, hey?" 

"Sure thing. They will go anywhere, and they will 
stick too. Stick like sin." 



78 HYPHENATED 

' ' Swenson is a sticker all right. They say he is go- 
ing to marry her, when she comes back. ' ' 

"I hope not. He ought to know his place. She 
belongs to one of our best families." 

General Sam Houston who had listened in silence, 
broke in: 

"Take it from me, ladies and gentlemen, Swenson 
is the lucky one. 1 11 bet my old gray hat on it. You 
knew Dr. Long. He was as fine a man as God ever 
made. Alid I declare unto God, Swenson is every 
bit his equal. I know what I am talking about. That 
young man has got a head on his shoulders, and mark 
my word, he will be a millionaire some day, when 
some of you are only renters and plow your corn with 
a lazy, long-eared mule. Swede or no Swede, you 
will see if that isn't the d — d truth. Beg your par- 
don, ladies, I did not mean to swear." 

"Queer old chap, Sam is," observed two of the 
guests as they rode homeward. "He talks like a pa- 
triot by the yards, then first thing, when a foreigner 
comes along he takes up with him like an equal. ' ' 

"Well, aren't we all foreigners? You weren't born 
in Texas. "We need all the good people we can get. 
Look how the Germans are coming." 

"Well perhaps you are right, but don't you think 
old Sam was a little bit tipsy ? ' ' 

"Well, that is nothing new." 



CHAPTEE VIII 

COMING HOME 

Early in September another letter arrived. Among 
other communications, it read: 

"I think we will arrive at Houston about Septem- 
ber 20th. I am fairly hungering for my Southland, the 
plantation and home life, the old hands, and not 
least for you, my dear friend. It will be like arriv- 
ing in port after a long and stormy voyage. I had 
no idea what inconveniences a lone woman would 
have to put up with, and I have often wondered how 
Mrs. Long can get along like she does. Miss Mc- 
Cready can not come with me this fall, but will visit 
us next spring and stay all summer. I have arranged 
to travel with the Jenkins down to New Orleans then 
it will not take long to get to Houston, where you will 
meet me with the carriage. After a quiet ceremony 
we will come home husband and wife. I trust you 
have arranged everything at home. Invite a few old 
friends for our first dinner on the plantation. But I 
trust you to arrange tactfully what is appropriate. 



80 HYPHENATED 

' ' Arrange and Prepare ! ' ' 

Swenson slept and dreamed, worked and planned 
with nothing else in sight. The cotton picking was 
in full swing, but he managed to keep his hands well 
up with the work, all with the hope and promise 
that they should have half a week off for holiday 
when the Mistress came home. Aunt Dinah bustled 
around in the house and kitchen. Old Joe hoed, raked, 
burned brush, and was initiated into the plans for the 
decoration that was to take place. 

Rev. Gillespie was to hold a short welcome speech. 
Then old Burns was rehearsed so he could say his 
speech. The Hunter, Burton, Willard, and "Wil- 
liams families were invited for a "little dinner.' ' At 
the dinner Col. Williams was to give an after-dinner 
speech, and Swenson thought it an appropriate mo- 
ment to introduce himself and his wife and thus take 
his stand in the community. 

Oh yes, everything was well planned. Everything 
except the big rainy spell that set in with "Marse" 
Swenson 's departure for Houston and continued with 
one or two good showers a day when they returned. 
The plantation shone and glistened in the sun that 
peeped out for a few hours between showers. The 
negroes were lined up on both sides of the road when 
the mud-bespattered carriage rolled up the hill where 



HYPHENATED 81 

the triumphal archway was erected, all glistening in 
its fresh attire of Southern smilax. 

Old Burns made his speech before Swenson and 
"Mist 'ess" got out of the carriage. Aunt Dinah 
was tickled to death to get in a word of welcome. 
The young element, thirty in number, and of all 
shades, and various ages, made a particular ringing 
welcome : 

' ' Glad to see you home, 

Glad to see you come 

Home again, home again, home again.' ' 
Mrs. Swenson beamed her rare sweet smile on the 
gay crowd, and for the thirtieth time they roared : 

"Glad to see you home — " 
Palm was there in his Prince Albert, silk hat and 
cane in hand, bowing and smiling. But the minister 
and all neighbors were frightened away by the black 
clouds and ominous low thundering that promised an- 
other shower in a little while. 

On the piazza Swenson and his wife turned to the 
servants who, without exception now joined in the 
refrain : 

"Glad to see you home" — 

The Mistress of the plantation told them all how 

truly glad she was to be back among them once more, 

and how she appreciated their welcome. "I know," 

she concluded, ' ' that you have one of the best masters 



82 HYPHENATED 

in the whole Brazos bottom, and I have one of the 
best husbands. " 

Swenson made his inauguration speech in something 
like the following language: 
"My truly faithful servants: 

"I bring back to you today your beloved 'Mis'tess' 
whom we have all missed so much, and who is also my 
1 Mistress' now. Tou have all been willing hands at 
your work and we will make the week-end one grand 
holiday. Every grown person will get a bright sil- 
ver dollar, every boy or girl working in the field will 
get half a dollar, and every child, twenty-five cents. 
Burns will give them to you. Now run along and 
take care of that barbecued meat and sweet potatoes 
before the next shower comes along. ' ' And the hilari- 
ous crowd broke out again: 

"Glad to see you home again/ ' before they went 
pell mell for the barbecued meat and "taters." 

The three white persons went in the big dining 
room where Dinah had set the table for two dozen 
people. 

The room was getting dark with the gathering 
rainstorm and dark clouds on the outside. 

"Well it can't be helped," sighed Swenson. "I 
have planned and done my best, but the rain is be- 
yond my control." 

His wife caught his hands, ' ' I think you have done 



HYPHENATED 83 

wonders, my dear. Do you know it seems to me like 
a new place, outside and inside ? "Where did you get 
all the money from besides the spending money you 
sent me so freely ? ' ' 

Swenson smiled. ■ ' I guess I can show it satisfactor- 
ily in the books." 

"I would just as soon have a cozy home-coming 
like this as the big one you had planned. But we will 
have a big dinner some day instead of this." 

Outside the rain splashed against the window panes 
while Dinah served the big dishes "fit to set before 
the king" for which she had hoped, so much, to win 
praise. 

"Laws a massy," she said to herself when the 
rain poured down, "dis ole nigger jus' stuck up and 
maybe de good Lawd jus' hab to send some tribulashun 
to keep me down." 

But in the dining room the spirit was just as ani- 
mated as if the table had been full of guests. 

"I declare," exclaimed the newly wedded Mrs. 
Swenson for the third time, "I enjoy this quiet home- 
coming better than anything else you could have 
planned. ' ' 

' ' Then the event is a grand success, ' ' complimented 
the courteous Palm. 

The old plantation life jogged along in the old 



84 HYPHENATED 

channels again. Burns got promoted to overseer, and 
felt highly elated and important. The promised big 
dinner with the Rev. Gillespie's after-dinner speech, 
and Swenson 's reply came off in great style, and Aunt 
Dinah's vanity and pride over the good "vittels" 
she was able to serve, received a new encouragement. 
Wasn't the turkey done to perfection, and the twelve 
cakes and fifteen pies one grand success ? And didn 't 
she hear Mrs. Higgins say to Mrs. Swenson : ' i These 
old Tennessee cooks are hard to beat. As long as you 
have Aunt Dinah in the kitchen, Mrs. Swenson, you 
can give better dinners than any of us." 

"Lawd a massy," Dinah related to her wondering 
gasping crowd of underlings, ' ' didn 't I feel like split- 
tin', and 'Mist 'ess' replying, sez she, 'It seems like 
I hab more blessins den I deserves.' " 

Peace and prosperity were evident on all sides in 
the new State. The war was not conducted on Texas 
soil. Generals Scott and Taylor's campaign in Mex- 
ico was one grand strategic success, and there could 
be but one result : an early honorable peace that would 
be conclusive and lasting. The administration of 
Governor Henderson — the first Governor of Texas — 
was vigorous and efficient, and all indications pointed 
to an era of unusual progress for the future. 

The young Swensons (he was about thirty years old 
then) went out to the grave under the great liveoak. 



HYPHENATED 85 

There was a garden sofa, a tool box containing rake 
and hoe, and very often they visited the grave and 
placed flowers where rested the body of the kindly 
friend and husband. Lying high up, as it did, where 
the bottoms broke into timber, from it one had a 
fine view over the landscape. It was springtime once 
more. The quails called "Bob White" in the thickets, 
the wild dove was cooing and wooing, the 
mocking birds were singing day and night like their 
throats were going to burst, and over from the fields 
came the voices singing with energy and precision: 

"Glad to see you home." 

Swenson smiled : "So they have not forgotten that 
old rhyme?" 

She also smiled: "Do you know, that rhyme as 
you call it, and the rhythm w r ith which they rendered 
it that evening, made me feel more at home than any- 
thing else. ' ' 

"No doubt," he said dreamily. Then turning to 
her: "How about another fellow r 's home place. It 
is eleven years since I left that place over in the old 
country." 

She was all sympathy and attention. 

"Yes, dear, you must feel lonesome sometimes. I 
know how you feel. As long as any of our dear 
ones are living in a far off place our thoughts and 



86 HYPHENATED 

longings will go out to them. Why don't you go 
home and see them 1 ' ' 

Then Swenson confided to her his observations and 
conclusions. 

"You see this constant immigration? The Germans 
are coming in ever increasing number year after year. 
Why could not my people emmigrate and settle here. 
There is the fertile land right along side of us. All 
that is needed is strong willing hands. And my 
people are a hard-working race." 

"Well, go over and bring them here, your parents 
and all." 

"Will you go with me?" 

"I don't think it would be right to burden you 
with my company when you would have a whole com- 
pany of others to tend to, besides, Cora is coming to 
spend the summer with me. If you can get young 
Dyer — of whom you have spoken — as an overseer, I 
think we will make it out all right here at home." 

"One more word: do you think you could tolerate 
my people? They are a plain uneducated people in 
many ways, very set in their views and habits, but 
industrious. If my old mother were to come over 
here I am afraid she would lord over me yet, and 
want to set up looms and spinning wheels in every 
room. She is an expert in making cloth and weaving 
rugs and carpets, that is her ruling passion." 



HYPHENATED 87 

"Well we will fix up some suitable place for her 
loom." 

"Yes dear, but she wants more than that. She 
wants to have hired girls to card, to spin, and work 
the loom, then she wants expositions to compete with 
others, and carry off the prizes. Can you create all 
that?" 

1 ' I thought you said she was uneducated ? ' 7 

"Yes, to a certain extent, perhaps.' 7 

1 ' People who can do such things are not uneducated, 
Swenson. You bring them over and I will guarantee 
to get along with them. Now I think I understand 
why you are such an ambitious man. You always 
wanted to carry off the prize, too. 77 

"Yes, especially, when you were the prize. 77 

So it was decided that Swenson was to go home to 
visit his folks in April. From the war field came the 
cheering news of the fall of Vera Cruz and San Juan 
de Ullua in March of 1847. The Mexican faction and 
the clergy were hostile to the Mexican government, 
because of the tribute levied on the churches for the 
continuance of the war. Consequently Swenson could 
depart without any fear of disturbance to his home 
and property. Besides there was Palm to be sent 
for in case of emergency. He would keep him posted 
on political and State news. Young Dyer was secured 
as overseer, and, on his journey to Houston, Swenson 



88 HYPHENATED 

sought an interview with the renowned general and 
statesman, Houston. 

"General," he said, "I am on my way to Sweden 
to induce my countrymen to come here and help to 
settle these wide prairies. I will return in the fall 
again if nothing happens. But in my absence, Gen- 
eral, if anything should happen to my family and they 
need the helping hand of a friend, and you are near 
enough to render them assistance, will you help them 
if you can?" 

"You can be d — d sure I will. Go and bring 150 
families back with you. We need them here. If I 
were president of the Republic (I mean Texas) I 
would send you home as ambassador. ' ' 

"Thank you General." 

Then there was B. A. Shepherd, the Houston bank- 
er, who proved a life-long and true friend to S wen- 
son. 

' ' Going to Europe, Swenson ? ' ' 

"Yes, going home to see my folks." 

"Why don't you take your wife along? Had a 
falling out?" 

"No, everything is alright at home. I guess you 
know my wife's cousin is coming to spend the sum- 
mer here. I intend to go home and try to induce 
my folks to come out here and settle down. But if 
any urgent message need to be sent to me, will you 



HYPHENATED 89 

do your best to send it? If we only had a telegraph 
across the sea then I could get a message in a few 
hours. ' ' 

"Well, I am afraid, Swenson, it will be many a 
day before it is accomplished, but it will come some 
day. Good luck to you, Swenson." 

So he traveled on the long and tedious journey 
from Houston to Galveston by the old steamer "Re- 
liance," from Galveston to New Orleans with the 
"Stephen F. Austin," and from New Orleans to 
St. Louis with the palatial packet steamer that plied 
the great Mississippi River in such style. The com- 
paratively advanced civilization and comforts of life 
appealed strongly to Swenson 's mind when he com- 
pared it with the rude mode of travel in Texas. The 
sugar plantations with their great refineries and 
colonial mansions evoked his admiration. And the 
refined, well-to-do planters with their families who 
traveled the water route of which they all were so 
proud, and the luxurious steamers where they en- 
joyed all that money and service could produce in 
those days, made a favorable impression on him that 
lingered in his memory for years, and perhaps in- 
fluenced him in later years when he sought to change 
his investments. The journey by stage to Chicago 
and by railway to New York, all were interesting in 
the extreme. 



90 HYPHENATED 

It was interesting to meet Pearson, now a captain 
in the army. 

"Oh, I knew you would come out all right, Swen- 
son, " he said, when Swenson had related his nine 
years' experience in the Lone Star State. And so 
you have married a beautiful, refined, and rich young 
widow. Allow me to offer my warmest congratula- 
I hope she is as good as she is rich and refined.' ■ 

"She is a good, true, pure and dependable wife. 
It has taken all the grit I possess to prove myself 
worthy of her." 

"Well such discipline does a young man good. If 
you want to possess you must deny yourself. You 
can 't have the cake and eat it at the same time. But 
what makes you break off your honeymoon life like 
this?" 

Swenson explained the plans and wound up with 
a glowing perspective of the new State. "I tell you, 
Captain, if you have money to invest, there is the 
place that will make your money grow. If you are 
called out with your men in this war and have to 
travel through Texas, keep your eyes open and see 
for yourself. It is only a few months ago that I 
bought half a league of land up on Brushy Creek, 
some twenty-five miles from Austin. It was sold to 
satisfy creditors — sold for a small sum, but it will 
be worth money some day. Do you know that a gov- 



HYPHENATED 91 

ernment post ranger gets a league of land for a 
year's service, and sometimes they don't even look 
up their headrights, and drive the claimstakes. You 
can buy their certificate for a pair of boots or a horse, 
perhaps. They don't see any value in land, but it 
will be worth something in the future. And I in- 
tend to see if I can not induce my folks to come 
over here and tackle such land, put it in cultivation, 
and make it valuable." 

1 ' I believe you were cut out for a statesman, Swen- 
son, just so you could have peace and develop things 
to your heart's content. Don't you think you could 
invest for me just as good as I could myself ? ' ' 

"When I come back I can and will do it with pleas- 
ure for an old friend." 

"7>* •«■ 35" * "H" •«• "JP 

There was a sailing vessel ready for Gothenburg, 
Sweden, and Swenson had to cut his visit short if he 
wanted to sail immediately. So the two friends sep- 
arated only to meet again under other circumstances 
later in life. 

The seven weeks' sailing across the Atlantic were 
pretty much like all other voyages at that period and 
the home-coming, when the first contours appeared, 
filled Swenson 's mind and heart with all the unin- 
terpretable feelings that enthuse Swedish-American 



92 HYPHENATED 

visitors when they, unable to control their emotions, 
with tearful eyes and shaking voices sing : 
"Oh land, our land, our father's land," or 
"I hail thee most beautiful land in the world. 
' 1 1 wish to live, I wish to die in northland. ' ' 
AVho can blame the foreign-born neutralized citizen 
for having a tender, peculiar feeling for the place 
where his old home w r as, and where his cradle rocked, 
and where, perhaps, old parents live? And who can 
blame him for being overcome by his feelings when 
he visits the old country? Later when he returns 
again to his adopted land after having compared con- 
ditions in the two countries, — congratulating himself 
on being a citizen of the "Stars and Stripes" — it is 
with a similar, but much prouder feeling, he greets 
the Goddess of Liberty welcoming the worthy emmi- 
grants to this shore. But what other than a barbaric 
government would condemn a person for these un- 
controllable feelings, and who but a thoughtless one 
would want to uproot and forbid these noble and 
tender sentiments? It is the man who leaves the 
Fatherland as an enemy that turns out the erratic 
socialist or the dangerous anarchist in this country. 
But give me the man who can love and cherish pas- 
sionately a little bit of blue sky, the tall timber and 
small lakes, the poor little huts, and the meager food, 
divided with loved relations during long hard days of 



HYPHENATED 93 

labor with scant pay: give us that kind of man and 
we have the stuff of which good reliable home-making 
people are built. Long may their tribe increase. 
They have helped to create a garden out of the wilder- 
ness, and have no apology to offer for being so bold 
as to remain here. 

And it would be a poor American who did not want 
to know something about his ancestors, their birth- 
place, their mode of living; to hear about the big 
trees underneath which his parents played as children, 
the houses wherein they were born, the conditions un- 
der which their characters were moulded, and which 
inherent sentiments — to a certain extent — he is labor- 
ing under today. We doubt very much if he can 
resist the inclination to wish that he could go there 
some day and worship. If he doesn't feel like that, 
sometimes, he or she is not normal. Let this be an 
explanation of the hyphenated citizen's sentiment on 
this question. 

Swenson could not help but contrast the govern- 
ment kept roads in Sweden to the unimproved black 
land roads in Texas. The small well-tilled fields 
there, and the masses of laboring people who did not 
have a home — to Texas conditions. There was much 
that was good and bad on each side, but he could 
not help but wish that some of these patient people 
could get a chance in Texas. Under these reflections 



94 HYPHENATED 

the home parish was reached. The town where ' ' Las- 
se" lived and conducted his business was passed. The 
old parish church where he had been " confirmed' ' 
hove in sight. The home place in Lattarp appeared 
and in a few minutes he was holding the old mother, 
the dominating "Margret on Lattarp" — in his arms. 

1 ' Good God is it really you Swen ? ' ' she was saying 
for the third time. "Who would have known you, 
brown and changed like you are ? ' ' They all crowded 
around him half shy, half curious to know more about 
this sudden appearance. Old Swen Israelson, his 
father, with his selfcontrol was not going to be un- 
balanced by this unexpected event. He sat at his ac- 
customed place at the head of the table and the son 
had to look around and step over to the ' ' high seat, ' ' 
take his hand, press it to his lips. He did it in such 
a dignified reverential manner that the hard face broke 
in a multitude of wrinkles and quivered as he said: 
"You ran away without my blessing, Swen, you will 
have to prove worthy of it and earn it before you can 
get it back." 

Then the unexpected happened. Before the old man 
realized what was going on, the son was on his knees, 
and in a penitent voice said : ' ' Father, I know I did 
wrong, but forgive me." 

The stern old father was much too surprised to 
make any long speech; "The Lord bless thee and 



HYPHENATED 95 

keep thee" — he faltered — <"The Lord let his face 
shine on thee and be merciful. May the Lord turn 
his face towards thee and give thee his eternal peace. 
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost. Amen. ' ' 

Then Swenson knew that everything was all right. 

The midsummer of the 24th of June was in its 
glory. The young people were decorating the May 
pole once more. The days seemed to reach, one into 
the other — a little twilight at midnight under which 
you could easily read the print in a book. The plays, 
folk dances, and hilarious midsummer spirit were in 
evidence everywhere. It is a memory from childhood 
that will linger with a foreigner a lifetime. 

")e "K" •?«• * -Jr %• "S* 

Anders Palm in Besthult gave a big dinner in 
honor of the celebrated guest — his sister's son. There 
were Swen and "Margret on Lattarp," Gustav, and 
Johannes Palm, with their families and kinsfolks, 
friends, and neighbors a plenty. The five boys of 
Anders Palm frisked about, out and in, curious and 
inquisitive. Together with their schoolmate August 
Forsgard whose father — a representative in the ' ' Riks- 
dag" of Stockholm — also were present at the great 
dinner, they had their private conference not so far 
away, so they could be on hand when the good things 



96 HYPHENATED 

were distributed, or something remarkable was said or 
done. 

"Tell you what, August, father and Uncle Gustav 
may go back with Uncle Swenson," said one of the 
Anders Palm boys. 

"Then I'll go with you," was the prompt reply. 

"No you can't go 'cause your papa isn't going." 

" I '11 bet you 1 11 get his permission. But let 's hear 
what they are saying at the table." 

' ' Margret on Lattarp ' ' was speaking to her son, old 
Swen sitting silent as usual. Well I hope I'll get the 
estate you promised me, Swen. ' ' 

"Yes, mother, if you'll go back with me, we will 
share the estate with you, my wife sent that message 
along with me. " 

"Your wife? I thought you owned the place?" 

"Well she runs me like you run Lattarp and every- 
thing there, mother." 

A hilarious merriment was the result of this reply. 

"Can she speak Swedish?" the old lady inquired, 
without losing her equilibrium. 

"No, mother." 

"Well who will I have to speak to then?" 

"You will learn English, of course." 

Now it was " Margret 's" turn to laugh loud and 
long. "No, my boy, never in the lifetime of this 



HYPHENATED 97 

king. But tell us, Swen, how many slaves have you 
got?" 

1 ' About forty." 

"Good God! And wouldn't they make slaves of 
us and sell us if we go there ? ' ' 

"No they wouldn't." 

"How do you know?" 

"Because no white people are used as slaves." 

"And you buy and sell slaves like horses or cows?" 

"No, we hardly ever sell a slave. And seldom buy 
any. We respect family ties and value a good faith- 
ful servant as much as you do here at home." 

"And how many acres have you got in field, Swen- 
son?" 

"About five hundred." 

"And what kind of money?" 

"Will you lend me a clean plate, Aunt Anna?" 

Swenson put on the plate a twenty dollar gold piece, 
one ten dollar, one five, a silver dollar, a fifty cent, 
twenty-five, a dime, and a nickel and let the plate pass 
around the table. Such an exhibit was not seen every 
day in the parish, and left an impression on the young 
people that they remembered for the rest of their 
lives. 

They plied Swenson with questions about the land, 
the crops, the war, the government, its stability, the 
Indians, and a thousand other things. Would not the 



98 HYPHENATED 

Indians come and kill them ? Wouldn 't drought starve 
them out? Wouldn't they get homesick and lonely, 
when they got there — cut off from all relatives and 
old friends? But the greatest of all obstacles was 
the risk involved — selling all things and risking it all 
on one single undertaking. If it proved a failure, all 
was lost. Then there was that long tedious journey on 
a sailing vessel with women and children, sea sick- 
ness and cares — conditions quite different from a 
young man's, who traveled by himself and had only 
himself to take care of. Two boys had recently been 
born into the families of Anders and Gustav Palm. 
It was like tearing the roof down over their heads, 
to start emigrating now. 

In vain did Swenson argue. In vain did he describe 
the fine land with the clear water in Brushy Creek. 
What did they care for clear water? Didn't they 
have whole lakes full of clear water at home ? Swen- 
son felt his power of persuasion waning. They were 
overpowering him, and bringing his arguments to 
naught. Instead of the hard-working less fortunate 
kinsfolks looking up to him as a benefactor who 
wanted to help them, he felt they considered them- 
selves well off, and almost pittied him who had to go 
back again to such uncivilized conditions. He felt like 
despairing. One of the Anders boys — a chunky, rud- 
dy faced boy, who with eager features watched how 



HYPHENATED 99 

the arguments were balancing — had come up behind 
his chair, and listened intently. 

Swenson caught hold of the young fellow's hand 
and fondled it for a moment. "Say, Aunt Anna," 
he said, "Can't you let me take this young man along 
and make a successful man of him ? ' ' 

But Aunt Anna said, "No. She could not let 
August go. If they were going, better all go. If 
they were to stay at home, they better all stay at 
home. ' " 

That was the end of it. 

Swenson 's folks were not dissenters from the State 
church in Sweden. They had never been persecuted 
for their faith like some sects were, at that time. Re- 
ligious liberty to them did not appear to be such an 
enviable thing as it seemed to be for others. 

But there was young Annie, Swenson 's youngest 
sister, a fair creature with rosy cheeks, a mouth like 
Swenson 's — goodness in itself — and full of life and 
eagerness to get away from the spinning wheel and 
the loom. As Swenson was walking in the evening 
rays of the sun, that seemed to never want to go 
down — torn by his disappointment during the din- 
ner that day — Annie stole up to him and slipped her 
arm under his. 

"I'll go with you, Swen, if you will have me," she 
whispered in a pleading shy voice. "They are all big 



100 HYPHENATED 

fools, standing in their own light. It is mother that 
influences them. She don't want them to go. And 
then you know they cannot sell out right away and 
go. They can not arrange and be ready until next 
spring at the best. You know that is the time to 
change and move to new places. But I will stick to 
you, Swen, if you will have me along. ' ' 

He drew her arm close under his and stroked her 
hand. "Of course I want you to go with me, and 
will gladly pay your expenses, little sister/' he said, 
almost gratefully, ' ' but how about mother ? ' ' 

"Well I can pack my chest and steal it away some 
night so she won't know if she won't give her con- 
sent." 

He mused a moment. ' ' No, we will not steal away, 
but I'll tell you what we can do. You let that chest 
alone. I can buy you all that you need in Gothen- 
burg. I want you to dress up a little like they do out 
in the world. The few things you want to take with 
you put them in my trunk. Then dress in your best, 
like you were going with me to Jonkoping. When we 
are ready to start we will tell mother that you are 
going with me to Texas. That it is a decided thing. 
Then they can bring your chest with them next spring 
when they are ready to emmigrate. We will leave 
the impression with them that we expect them to 
come next year. The young element is enthusiastic 



HYPHENATED 101 

and will dream about it until it comes true. I have 
not given up the scheme yet, ' ' 

He had a private, confidential talk with Uncle An- 
ders that left him in a very different mood when Swen- 
son was through. 

' ' Think about your six boys, Anders. What chance 
do they have in this crowded old country? In Texas 
they could have a farm each when they grow up. 
I '11 do my best for you, like you were my own brother, 
and there is that fertile land alongside of my plan- 
tation if you want to settle near me. ' ' 

The boys were made his allies by small gifts and 
friendly conversation. 

One day when Old Swen was sitting in his "high 
seat" all alone in the big assembly room, young Swen 
and Annie entered holding each others hands. 

"Father," said the son, "Annie has decided to go 
back with me to Texas, but we don't want to run off 
this time without your consent and blessing. Won't 
you give us your blessing?" 

"Old Swen" looked up and hemmed and hawed 
quite a bit, "What does mother say about it?" he 
asked at last in his slow cautious way. 

Young Swen told him their plan. "But we want 
your consent first, father." 

"Well, you have it my children. May the Lord 
bless and keep you." 



102 HYPHENATED 

"Margret on Lattarp" was all bustle and fore- 
thought when Swenson was getting ready to depart 
again. There were rugs and carpets and fine linen 
table cloth that would last a lifetime, over which no 
king need feel ashamed, and artfully w T oven coverings 
that were worth a prize in any art exhibition. The 
daughter-in-law over in the far-off land should know 
that she had a mother-in-law who knew how to use her 
hands and head. Alas, if she had only known how 
empty-handed her own Annie was to leave the parental 
roof! Once, it is true, Annie wondered and wished 
that she could go with Swen, but mother said no, what 
nonsense, if we all go then of course — but alone — 
impossible. 

The farewell from sisters and younger brother — 
the "Johan i Langasa, " in later years — over, Swen 
Israelson and wife, with Annie and young Swen, went 
to Jonkoping, the town from which Swen was going 
to depart. 

What business Annie had to go along was a mys- 
tery to her sisters and brothers until she, in secret, 
with tears in her eyes, bade them adieu, and told 
them that she was not coming back. 

Swenson told his mother on the way that it would 
be better to let Annie go with him, but the old lady 
would not consent. And besides she had no chest, no 
clothes. What was her consternation when Swenson 



HYPHENATED 103 

told her that they had all agreed that Annie should 
go with him. 

He embraced his parents, gave the old lady a smack 
on her cheek, told her that she could not expect any- 
thing better from "such chips off the old block," and 
off they were before she had time to exercise her usual 
authority. 

Margret had to sit down on the nearest bench. Had 
the world come to an end? Had her final authority 
ever before been contested and set aside? Was not 
"Old Swen" always yielding to her strong dominant 
and sensible will? 

But even Old Swen spoke up today. "Margret," 
he was saying, "you can not blame the children for 
having some of your own determination. ' ' 

Such was Swenson's home-coming and departure 
again. 



CHAPTEE IX 

DEVELOPMENTS 

It was hard for "Margret on Lattarp" to de- 
cide whether she should give way to her feelings of 
anger over her son's and daughter's unusual depart- 
ure, or if she should take up the outfit of Annie's 
linen supply. How was the poor girl going to get 
along when all her clothes and the supply of linen 
that had been started and laid away in her chest re- 
mained at home? And if the poor thing went and 
married, where would she get bed sheets and bed 
clothes, towels, tablecloths, and matting from? So 
she compromised by laying by a little speech of re- 
proof (to be used if she ever got to Texas) and fell 
to, on the other hand, to start one or two looms so 
as to complete the linen supply in Annie's chest. But 
my goodness, what a rebuke that heedless girl de- 
served! To run off in only one dress, and no linen 
supply ! 

But Annie had never enjoyed life like she did on 



HYPHENATED 105 

this journey. True, she studied the first reader and 
the Blueback speller every day for several hours, but 
there was much to see on the voyage that was new and 
interesting. The climate to which she came was a 
warmer one than she was accustomed to, but she be- 
came readily u&ed to it. She learned to like her re- 
fined sister-in-law from the very first. 

"Is this the whole colonization company that you 
were going to bring over?" inquired Mrs. Swenson, 
after the first warm greetings had been exchanged. 

"Yes, that was all I could pry loose from home," 
admitted Swenson. "Ill tell you, it is no easy job 
to start a colonization movement of the right class 
of people. I am afraid there are very few persons 
fit to undertake such a work and make it a success. I 
admire Stephen F. Austin today more than ever." 

"But this is the first time I have known you to 
fail, Swenson, when you set your heart on doing any- 
thing." 

""Well, I don't think I have failed entirely. They 
will come later." 

The letters from the Old Country seemed to justify 
these expectations. A whole company was thinking 
and talking of coming out the next spring, and wanted 
Swenson to lay plans for them as to how and where 
they should colonize, if they did come. 

Cora McCready had to return home before Swenson 



106 HYPHENATED 

arrived with his sister. They arrived in the fall when 
the October haze of Indian summer hung in the air, 
creating that indescribable mood or feeling that only 
autumn carries with it. The yellow looking corn fields 
with their promising yield already made and de- 
posited in their bags of husk; the still green fields of 
cotton that were yielding such rich returns and prom- 
ising a "top crop" in addition; the singing negroes 
in the field; the hazy dream-like landscape with the 
old Finckley estate the most prominent setting, to 
Swenson's eyes — all together made him feel that he 
was by great and overwhelming reasons attached to 
this grand and great country. The smoke that arose 
from his own chimney seemed to him prettier than 
any other. The " elbow-room ' ' and sense of liberty 
and freedom so peculiar to the Texas climate in sum- 
mer and fall, came to him with a new force and mean- 
ing, and the annexation of this splendid State to the 
Union seemed to him a sacred tie, whenever he thought 
of it, and it stood for him as a guarantee of a stable 
government and peaceful development for many years 
to come. Surely it would be no mistake to expect and 
plan for great developments in the near future. There 
was only one cloud, not bigger than a man's hand, 
to be sure, but he was reminded of it every time he 
looked at his slaves, or a group of negroes. Swente 
Palm's words came back to him time and again: 



HYPHENATED 107 

"They are going to be set free some day." He had 
heard a whole lot of rabid abolition talk during his 
journey in the North, and the clashing sentiments 
troubled and perplexed him. In what form was the 
solution going to come ? Was it going to be a peaceful 
one, or spell a new revolution? Who could tell? 

To be sure the servants were overjoyed to see him 
back again. But there was a cloud on old Burn's 
face, and a reservation in his speech that puzzled 
Swenson. Some grievance lay at the bottom of it he 
felt. It would come out in veiled words in some con- 
versation. He could almost guess what it was. 

Se he sat down and listened to young Dyer's re- 
capitulation of the season's work. They had done 
well. Crops had never been better. Cotton would 
soon be gathered, and the health of the hands was 
good. But he had had a time of it. He had gotten 
more work out of the negroes than any man on the 
place before. The hands all thought that the old 
established limit for a day's or season's work was 
set for all future time, but he had learned them a 
few new things. 

"Have you learned them to keep in a good humor 
at the same time, ' ' Swenson asked. 

Humor? H — 11, no. — Beg your pardon, I forgot 
myself. I am looking for the work to be done. They 



108 HYPHENATED 

will have to look out for the humor there is in it 
themselves. ' ' 

"Done much whipping?" 

"This is only my second raw-hide this season," he 
replied, brandishing a nearly new riding whip. "But 
I have a good 'bull snake' hanging down in the tool 
room. I only had to use it once. ' ' 

"And that limbered up the whole crowd?" 

"It sure did. You ought to have seen the young 
buck when I got through with him. I had to make 
him an example. You know, your negroes are getting 
spoilt, that's what they all say around here." 

' ' And they seem to like you all right, do they ? ' ' 

"Well, now, Mr. Swenson, that is going it pretty 
deep. I know they respect me, and that is all I care 
for." 

Swenson sat in deep thought for a few moments. 
"Dyer," he said at last, "you have done splendid 
work in my absence. Everything is in good shape 
as far as I can see. The hands are not bad off. 
With a little easier time in the fall, they will soon 
pick up again. But I can always tell when a horse 
or negro has lost his spirit. I was always told, when 
a boy, not to make a horse disheartened in the be- 
ginning of a work, if you knew that it was going to 
take supreme efforts before you were through. I 
was told to reserve any harsh measure to the last 



HYPHENATED 109 

moment. To take a disheartened horse or negro, and 
put them through a day's work, when they are sick 
at heart, is like being forced to eat when your stomach 
is out of order. It is unnatural. ' ' 

Dyer looked sober and troubled. "You don't ap- 
prove of my work, then? I tell you I have worked 
hard to merit your praise." 

"Why, of course, I appreciate it. I only wish I 
could praise the spirit under which it was done. But 
we can always learn while we are young, can't we, 
Dyer?" 

"Yes, no doubt," admitted the proud young man. 
"But say, how about the mules? Do you think these 
rules apply to them also?" 

"Well, that is apart of another story. But say, 
Dyer, that reminds me of an old man I met some years 
ago with an unusually good span of mules, which 
he took great pride in. Do you know what he said? 
'Swenson, ' he said in a confidential tone to me, 'most 
people don't believe it, but I have found out, that a 
mule likes to be petted just as much as a horse.' 
Now as to whipping negroes, we have for years not 
had anything worse than hackberry switches on this 
place. When any switching had to be done I always 
let old Burns do it. He was pretty just about it. As 
long as the boys would take obediently what they de- 
served, he was not hard on them. It was the run-away 



110 HYPHENATED 

negro that caught it. It was always this he told 
them: 'If you want a hard whipping, try to run 
away. If you want an easy one, stay and take what 
is coming to you. ' There are more ways than one to 
handle niggers." 

So the conference ended, but another started when 
Mrs Swenson was going to relate how things had 
been going on during Swenson 's absence. 

1 ' Now, "William is a perfect gentleman to ladies and 
white people in general, but when it comes to the 
slaves, he is a brute. You ought to see that poor boy 
Nilee — how he looks yet. He has marks from that 
beating to this day. And the way the poor boy 
'hollered' and called for 'Mistess'! It makes me wild 
yet. I can hear it when ever I think of it. No such 
unearthly sounds have ever been heard on this place 
before, that I know." 

"What had the boy done?" 

"Oh, I guess he had been shirking in the cotton 
picking, and had been promised the most lively time 
he ever had in his whole life if he fell below his 
hundred and fifty. So when he heard what was doing 
that night, off he went. Dyer turned the dogs loose 
and scared the men up for a regular slave hunt. He 
fired his pistols right and left, and rode the horse 
down so he was all stove up. Oh, they had a 'coon 



HYPHENATED 111 

hunt' all right, I tell you. But let me stop right here. 
I don 't want to live it over in my memory again. ' ? 

"But the boy seems to have deserved some punish- 
ment?" 

"Yes, no doubt; but not as cruel and relentless as 
that." 

"Dyer told me he had to set an example." 

"Did he confess that voluntarily himself?" 

"No, I ferreted the story out of him little by little. 
I hope he was made to see that he did not gain as 
much as he lost by that act of violence." 

"Why, he lost a good healthy hand for one solid 
week. And the week after he could only do half the 
work he used to. But who told you about it ? Burns ? ' ' 

"No one told me, but I can feel these things by 
sympathy and instinct when I go among the negroes. 
I am sorry you had to suffer these things during my 
absence. ' ' 

"Well, that was the only unpleasant thing during 
the whole summer. He may have used that raw-hide 
switch a little too freely, but as long as they can 
skip away to their work, I don't mind it so much. 
Otherwise, we had a pleasant time. But the flogging 
upset Cora, all right. She will turn into a red hot 
abolitionist from now on." 

"Well, it is the curse of the system," Swenson said. 
Exceptions will come down hard on the individual 



112 HYPHENATED 

sometimes, no matter what his station is. Dyer un- 
doubtedly carried it too far. But a young, hot-headed, 
energetic man will forget himself sometimes. Almost 
all of us have the humiliating memory of some trying 
moment in our young days, when we misused our 
power, and made some one who was at our mercy, 
suffer most cruelly. Afterwards when we reflect on 
it, we feel guilty and mean. Then we can also under- 
stand the feelings of others. I have no doubt William 
will feel that way about it, and I will try to plant the 
moral of what has happened in deep soil. But come 
now, wifey, and look at what your old mother-in-law 
sent you for a wedding present, although a little late. 
That will create a better feeling all around. ' } 

They looked over all the linen goods packed down in 
his trunk, even to the socks of wool knitted by loving 
hands in the far off country. 

"Your mother must be a genuius in weaving, 
Swenson. I know a little about these things, but it 
seems to me we can never get any further than to 
make ducking for the hands. But how do they get 
time to do all these things when they have no slaves?'' 

"Well, they have servants who, for a small wage, 
work like slaves all the year around. Besides every- 
body works, except the nobility. Now Annie, for 
instance, has turned out hundreds of yards from her 
loom of just this kind of table birdseye." 



HYPHENATED 113 

"Well, I am going to have a regular industrial 
conference with Annie. If we could only raise flax 
here!" 

' ' It seems to me, ' ' observed Swenson, ' ' that in this 
imigration movement from the north into the south, 
many industries threaten to become a lost art, not 
because of ignorance of the ancestors, but because of 
altered conditions and meager facilities. The most 
needful things come first. With more peace and set- 
tled conditions comes the revival of art and fancy 
work again. ' ' 

"Well, when your mother comes, we will put up a 
whole factory of spinning wheels and looms, and in- 
stitute a school of industry for the young people 
around here. Mother Margret is going to be super- 
intendent and adviser, and Annie will be manager. 
We will make the Southland hum with industry, won 't 
we?" 

Then there was the unavoidable interview with 
Burns in one form or the other. Swenson chose to 
have it his own way. He had learned that the 
grievance had been discussed in the negro quarters, 
and that something like a committee was to lay the 
matter before him, assured before hand that they 
had his sympathy. 

So when the two men were out looking over the 
plantation, Swenson intentionally led the way to where 



114 HYPHENATED 

Nilee was working, not far from Burns and some 
other hands. 

"Well, boys," he said, "how are you coming 
along?" 

Xilee grunted halfway between the squealing of a 
pig and the cackling of a hen, while he tried to 
limp to the next cotton stalk. 

"Well, I hear you tried to shirk your part, Nilee, 
while I was away. You won't do it any more I 
hope?" 

1 ' Naw, 'deed not, Marse ! ' ' Nilee growled, limping 
worse than ever. 

' ' Maybe you caught it a little bit too hard, Nilee, ' ' 
he said, "but it can't be helped now." 

Nilee rolled his eyes and whined in his most pitiful 
tones while he pulled up his shirt and showed a still 
unhealed scar on his hip. 

1 ' Scuse me Marse Swenson, but dis is what hurts de 
most. ' ' 

Swenson tried to force a smile. " I thought the leg 
hurt you most." 

"Yas, sor." 

Burns and the other fellows had straightened up 
and were listening. They did not understand ex- 
actly which was the safe side in the parley, but a 
swish of the riding quirt reminded them of their 



HYPHENATED 115 

duty. Swenson was not going to give his overseer 
away before the slaves. 

' ' Come here, Burns, ' ' he said. ' ' Dyer has done well 
this summer, and everything is in fine shape, the 
work, crop and all, except Nilee. He has got the 
worst of it. Some fellows only get stung when they 
go hunting for honey. But you have all done 
well, now we will take the week end for a big holiday. 
Give them a silver dollar each — the boys and girls 
fifty cents each, the children two bits. Let them all 
have one or two shoats and a steer for barbecue. 
Then we will forget our troubles and start anew. 

So Dyer blew his bugle, and the whole crowd came 
to quarters wondering what the outcome would be. 
The two men walked on ahead. 

' ' Seems to me that boy must have been laid up for 
a week or two the way he looks yet. You wanted to 
rush the work, and you lost out about the picking 
of one bale on account of your ambition. ' ' 

"Well," admitted Dyer, "when you get wrought up 
you don't figure things like that out before hand. It 
troubled me all the time, especially when at the table 
with the ladies. But I could not apologize to the 
negroes. That would have spoiled the whole thing." 

"Well, Dyer, let me give you a little friendly ad- 
vice. It is not the loss of a week's work from a sick 
hand that hurts us most. It is when the story gets 



116 HYPHENATED 

out, and circulates up in the north, and when the 
story is added to and enlarged upon that the whole 
south is represented to be a slave abusing country 
from one end to the other. Let one white boss knock 
down his hired man for acting contrary to him, or 
one white man knock down his fellow man — no one 
inquires into it but those nearest interested; but let 
a white man knock down a negro in the presence of 
a northern man — and it is an unheard of cruelty, no 
matter how much deserved. That is what is hurting 
our cause up north. Then again, I hate to have hands 
sullen and full of fear and hidden anger. I wish you 
could see these things as I see them, Dyer." 

"Well, I have learned quite a few things lately, 
Mr. Swenson." 

"Then we will drop the matter right here." 

A chilly November night, Mr. and Mrs. Swenson 
were sitting before the open fire place, where a crack- 
ling fire blazed. 

"Wonder why Annie don't come down and warm 
herself," said Mrs. Swenson. 

"She is used to a more frigid climate than this, 
and she don't consider it cold weather at all." 

But, Swenson, let me tell you what is under con- 
sideration. I may be mistaken, but my impression is 
that young Dyer is ready to fall in love with Annie." 



HYPHENATED 117 

"What makes you think so, my dear." 

"Well, Swenson, don't you pride yourself on having 
a wonderful power of observation? Where are your 
eyes?" 

"Admiring you, I suppose.'' 

"But when it comes to understanding the art of 
love, I think a woman has the better developed in- 
stinct." 

"Oh, you are just interested in a new match 
making again, like the one you tried to pull off be- 
tween Cora and me." 

But in her room Annie was writing a letter to her 
home folks. 

"Dear father and mother: 

"We arrived safely at Richmond, Texas, after a 
nine week's journey, and found everything pleasant 
and lovely at Swen's home. His wife is a wonderfully 
nice and good woman. Although I cannot speak much 
English, I felt at home right away. This is a splen- 
did country. They are making great crops, and can 
ship them on the river to Galveston or New Orleans. 
I am sure I will like it here, and will never go back 
to Sweden. The young overseer is a nice fellow, and 
has taken me out for a ride with him, and shown me 
every attention that he can think of. No boy ever 
had as nice manners in the Old Country as young 



118 HYPHENATED 

Dyer has. He has the greatest respect for Swen. I 
tell you Swen is considered a real gentleman out here, 
which I found out myself. Swen is not only polite to 
rich people, but he is a really good master to his 
servants, and to everybody dependent on him. And 
he is making money, and dividing it freely with me. 
I get all I need. But I long to get my chest. 

"When are you coming over? Mrs. Swenson tells 
me to thank you, mother, a thousand times for all the 
linen goods you sent her. The bird's eye tablecloth 
you sent cannot be duplicated around here, she says. 
She wants you to come over, and set up and run two 
or three looms. Run a weaving institute and take 
' elevs' you know. 

' * I am sure you are coming over, a whole company 
of you. Kind greetings to you all ! 

"Your loving daughter, 

Annie. " 

The war with Mexico ended in February, 1848, and 
when spring came around once more, a letter arrived 
w^hich told the great news that Anders and Gustav 
Palm, with their families, six or seven hired men, 
three or four hired girls, Senator Forsgard's son, and 
very probably "Margaret on Lattarp" were coining. 
They were going to start in the late spring, so as to 
arrive in Texas by the fall. Of this interesting coloni- 



HYPHENATED 119 

zation party, August Forsgard wrote in later years the 
following account : 

"On the morning of November 22, 1848, a party 
of Swedish immigrants landed at the foot of Main 
street in Houston from the steamboat, Reliance. They 
had left Sweden early in July, by sailboat for Boston, 
thence to New York. From there they came to Texas 
in the schooner, Stephen F. Austin, and landed at 
Galveston, thence by steamboat up Buffalo Bayou to 
Houston. 

"That was the only way to reach the interior of 
Texas. Indians and wilderness walled us in on the 
north. Traveling was slow in those days — only a few 
miles of railroad in America then, and no telegraph 
communication. The only transportation in Texas 
was by horseback, stage coach, or prairie schooners. 

' ' The party of immigrants consisted of two families, 
Anders Palm, his wife and six sons, Gustav Palm, his 
wife and four children, and the mother of of S. M. 
Swenson, the first Swede in Texas, also three maid 
servants, and six men servants, mechanics, and a 
boy. None of them could speak English. The Palms 
had a brother, Sir Swente Palm, in La Grange. S. M. 
Swenson, their nephew, then resided on a plantation 
near Richmond, Fort Bend County. 



120 HYPHENATED 

"THE BOY" BECAME A SETTLER. 

" 'The boy' was the son of a well-to-do farmer of 
Forserum, who at that time represented the district 
of Jonkoping in the Swedish riksdag. The boy came 
to see the land, and then return, but circumstances 
so controlled his acts, that he did not return until 
the spring of 1866, and then on a visit to show his 
parents his wife, a daughter of the Republic of 
Texas, and incidentally to take in the World's Exposi- 
tion at Stockholm, and see a real king. 

"S. M. Swenson had made arrangements with B. 
A. Shepherd to send a rider to inform him when the 
long expected party arrived. 

1 ' Thus some days elapsed before the prairie schooner 
and mules arrived, during which time we were com- 
fortably quartered at the Washington Hotel at the 
foot of Main street, and nearly every man and boy 
in Houston visited us, and like Artemus Ward said: 
'Saw the show for nothing, and it did not cost them 
a cent.' Houston has never before or since seen the 
like. 

' i The two horse wagon and harness we brought from 
Sweden attracted much attention. So did our large 
chests of clothing and implements, and also our big 
doublebarrel muzzle-loading shotguns that every man 
had brought along to defend us against the Indians, 



HYPHENATED 121 

and to kill buffaloes with — both of which were plenti- 
ful in the interior. 

"I had a small rifle with percussion lock, and two 
' pepper box' brass revolvers, curiosities here where 
nothing but ' holster pistols ' were common. The ' pep- 
per boxes' laid the foundation of my fortune later, 
when a rush was made for California gold digging.' ' 

"The party arrived at the Swenson plantation in 
due and ancient form, and the men folks worked in the 
cotton and corn fields, and also cleared much land 
which was intended to be Uncle Anders plantation, but 
that patriarch died and was buried the first year, 
which sorely distressed us all. 

"We had been badly shaken up by fever and ague, 
and at the death of ' Uncle Anders, ' we scattered from 
tall timber to open grounds, some went to work in 
Austin County, others to LaGrange in Fayette, and 
later to Travis and Williamson Counties, forming the 
nucleous for later settlements. 

"S. M. Swenson 's mother returned to Sweden and 
lived to the age of ninety-nine years. 

"I, 'the boy,' returned to Houston, and got a job 
with B. A. Shepherd, well satisfied with my exper- 
iences in cotton picking, having the distinction of be- 
ing the first white boy who had ever picked cotton in 
the Brazos bottom, and thus having the unusual op- 



122 HYPHENATED 

portunity to learn 'negro race characteristics'. While 
there I lived with Mr. Swenson and was treated as 
one of the family. They took pains to teach me 
English. Mrs. Swenson was an estimable lady." 

Besides this interesting story, the old gentleman is 
quoted by reporters as having given them the follow- 
ing verbal facts : ' ' ' I am a little older than Houston. 
I was born 1832. The city was named in 1836.' This 
was the remark of G. A. Forsgard, who celebrated his 
eighty-first birthday yesterday (1913.) He added: 
'But the city has outgrown me time and time again. 
When I improved and settled what is now known 
as the Forsgard homestead, I thought I was out of 
reach of the city. 

" 'But in a few years the city spread out and 
took me in. I found myself surrounded by substan- 
tial and elegant residences. I found myself in the 
city limits and paying city taxes. I found pleasant 
neighbors — and now the children of Houston are to 

possess the land.' " 

# * * * * # # 

Mr. Forsgard is still living at this writing (1916), 
eighty-four years old, and the writer has asked for 
permission to publish this article. 

It was an interesting group of people that arrived 
in early December at the plantation, the funny little 
Swedish wagon among the others in the caravan; the 



HYPHENATED 123 

boys and young folks burning 1 with curiosity, and 
eager to investigate ; the leaders of the company grave 
and responsible, looking after the children and the wel- 
fare of their people and goods. In the carriage drawn 
by the trusty old gray mares, on which the boys took 
their much enjoyed rides later, were "Margaret on 
Lattarp, " and her two sisters-in-law — wives of An- 
ders and Grustav Palm, with their smallest children. 

When the carriage drove up to the residence of her 
son, and she found herself enclosed in his arms, with 
Annie hovering around, waiting her turn, and a sweet 
looking lady standing beside with moist eyes — evi- 
dently Swen's wife — and Swente Palm, her brother 
who had come over from LaGrange, the good old lady 
forgot her speach of reproof that she had prepared 
for Swen and Annie. Tears and kisses, embraces 
and greetings fiilled the air, and all ended in a de- 
licious lunch where the first good coffee was served — 
so the newly arrived ladies declared — that they had 
tasted since they left their old home in Sweden. 

But the big affair took place when the whole com- 
pany, about twenty-five in all, had arrived, and after 
disposing of their goods and accumulation of dust 
and dirt, sat down to a big dinner, which Dinah, with 
willing hands and wondering mind, had prepared. 

Swenson, who loved to do things right, at the right 
time, made a little speech of welcome. Swente Palm 



124 HYPHENATED 

proposed a toast; Mrs. Swenson said a few words of 
welcome in English. Anders and Gustav Palm told 
how thankful they were for all kindness r and ' i Grand- 
ma Margret" suddenly remembered her speech, 
which she had prepared long ago. 

She also stood up and — taking off her spectacles — 
looked over the company assembled around the table. 
"Swell," she said in slow measured, but soft tones, 
"I came over here to give you and Annie a piece of 
my own mind for running off like you did, and to 
bring the poor girl 's clothes and linen. But I will not 
say anything now. I don't blame you for wanting 
us all to come. You have got a good home, Swen, a 
nice wife — what she can do with a loom I don't know 
yet, but will find out by the by. I only wish father 
could have come with us, but his leg is very painful, 
and I thought best to come out here, and look around 
first before deciding to move. And it is always best 
to be careful when making new decisions, but I want 
to thank you for your kindness all the same. You 
have a good cook even if she is a black one, and your 
people seem to be content around you. I only wish 
you may all prosper and enjoy yourselves in this new 
country. I am the oldest one among you here, but 
I hope the Almighty God may hold his protecting hand 
over you all in this great and prosperous land, in the 
the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost." 



HYPHENATED 125 

It was a very simple speech, but it was the longest 
public speech "Margret on Lattarp" ever made, and 
she was almost flustered when through. Tears moist- 
ened her eyes and almost threatened to choke her 
voice when she thought about her people without par- 
ish church and the sacrament, without preaching in a 
language they could understand, and without the old- 
time parish school for the children. What w^as to 
become of them after all? They had risked a whole 
lot coming out here, to be sure. But she depended on 
Swen to take care of them, and when she heard him 
echo a soft "Amen" to her invocation, she felt more 
at ease, and when Mrs. Swenson, to his great astonish- 
men caught, under a sudden impulse, one of the round- 
eyed, milk-and-strawberry complexioned, bashful boys, 
and kised him long and loud on the rosy, clean scour- 
ed cheeks, there was great merriment. The youngster 
struggled in vain to get away, and finally succeeded in 
hiding behind his mother. To be suddenly caught, 
kissed, and kindly fondled by the beautiful Mrs. 
Swenson was an exciting occurrence which scared the 
boys nearly out of their wits, but which they came to 
secretly enjoy after a w T hile. 

The boys rode to the river on the old trusty carriage 
horses and came very near drowning in the Brazos, 
which occurrence would have cut Forsgard's age con- 
siderably, if Burns had not come to the rescue. They 



126 HYPHENATED 

planted a garden in the rich, fertile bottoms, under 
Swenson's direction, and put big baskets full of the 
finest garden truck on the banks of the Brazos, when 
they knew the steamboat was due to arrive. They 
would catch the small pigs in the great sugar casks, 
turn them in upright positions, with the pigs caught 
inside, and then "mark" them with the Swenson 
mark, which w T as great fun. They would play with 
the small negroes and study the primer and "blue- 
back speller" at stated hours. All this time the men 
worked, clearing the land for a new plantation. 

Christmas over — so unlike the holiday feast in the 
Old Country — old Margaret began to inquire about 
the spinning wheels and looms. She had brought a 
quantity of yarn with her for setting up a new loom 
without delay, but it would not hurt to set hands to 
carding and spinning. Were not all these black 
women folks without work right now ? Why not keep 
their hands busy? She could not get any help from 
the hired girls in Anders' and Gustav's families. They 
needed them. She and Annie examined the old rem- 
nants of looms on the place. She had conferences 
with the carpenter on looms. She looked over the 
black women critically to pick out competent hands, 
likely to understand the deep mysteries of warp and 
woof, "heedles" and reeds, band and check weaving, 
shuttles and threadles. To talk about figure weav- 



HYPHENATED 127 

ing, pile weaving, doublecloth, or such things, per- 
taining to the higher arts, she felt was useless. She 
tried to be reasonable and take the people as she found 
them. But then to get her communications and ideas 
into these kinky, woolly heads, why it was well nigh 
impossible ! Ah, if she had only brought two or three 
girls with her as servants, that would have simplified 
matters, and Annie — why Annie was not interested 
a bit in this noble art. Things could be bought, even 
down to the negroes cloth, so handy, so why all this 
fuss? Besides, Annie could not translate all these 
terms in weaving satisfactorily. There were no 
markets or sale days in this country, nor expositions 
where she could take her art products and compete 
for a prize, and perhaps "Old Swen" was worse at 
home — it was all obstacles and troubles and difficulties 
in her way. 

In vain did Swenson tell his mother that she did 
not need to worry and work about her looms. Who 
has ever seen a healthy middle-aged lady of the for- 
eign stock sit idle and fold her hands? And if she 
was not needed or efforts appreciated, she knew where 
she was needed, and the longing to go back to the 
old ways of living her life, that she was accustomed 
to, grew to be an absorbing desire with her. 

And when the news came to Swenson 's place, that 
Uncle Anders was sick, very sick, and when finally he 



128 HYPHENATED 

died, and was buried under the liveoaks in the private 
burial ground, then old Margret concluded to go 
home again. 

"But, mother, how are you going to get home all 
by yourself?" Swenson asked. 

"Just as if that would be harder than bossing two 
or three hired men and hired girls around, and have 
a sickly husband and a house full of boys and girls 
to provide food and clothes for. If I could take care 
of all that, I guess I can take care of myself. ' ' 

Swenson had to smile and admit: "You were al- 
ways a plucky woman, mother." So the old lady de- 
parted again, after an affectionate farewell. 

It was the day after the homecoming of the newly 
wedded Crown Prince and the Princess of Sweden, 
a home-coming celebrated with great and enthusiastic 
ovation, when "Margret on Lattarp," tired, dusty, 
and alone, came to Gothenburg, and was hailed with : 
1 ' Here comes another traveler from foreign parts. ' ' 

Margret pointed her finger solemnly at the 
speaker: "Yes, my boy, and I have perhaps seen 
more of the real world than any of you. ' ' 

That "Old Swen" was glad to have his efficient 
wife home again, goes without saying. 



CHAPTER X 

READJUSTMENT. 

"A calamity seldom comes alone/' says an old 
Swedish proverb. Soon after the death of "Uncle 
Anders" and the departure of "Old Margret/' Mrs. 
Swenson took a violent cold that threatened to de- 
velop into pneumonia. Then followed bleedings, and 
later hemorrhages of a serious character. Alarm and 
consternation were written on the faces of the house- 
hold and relatives. Cures, remedies, medicines, and 
journeys were suggested without end. Sympathetic 
messages poured in from all quarters. Mrs. Swenson 
was greatly beloved by servants as well as neighbors. 
Her Christian character and kind temperament made 
her a favorite with young and old. Swenson walked 
like one in a stupor. Sleepless nights and worried 
days made him thin and prematurely old, while the 
fatal disease made rapid inroads on Mrs. Swenson 's 
strength, which had never been very great. 

The desire seemed to grow with her to return to 
Tennessee. Perhaps the climate there would be better 



130 HYPHENATED 

for her. The Brazos bottoms have never been con- 
sidered very healthy, although very fertile. But what 
are riches without health? The new immigrants had 
the malaria and chills, off and on, and wanted a 
healthier location. Gustav Palm made ready to move 
to La Grange and Swenson sought to induce the 
widow with her six sons to move to higher ground 
in Austin County. He purchased some land there for 
her. 

Then the husband and wife talked between them- 
selves of selling the plantation. Swenson was willing 
to do anything to please his wife. And in a fortnight 
the place was sold. Sold for a good price and on sat- 
isfactory terms to Gaston, who lived on the prairie. 
Sold slaves and all. What that means to kind-hearted 
owners and affectionate servants, let the imagination 
fathom. But the tears and lamentations lingered in 
Swenson 's memory for years, and prompted him to 
remember the old hands after emancipation with a 
piece of ground each. Aunt Dinah and a couple of 
housemaids were to go with the master to Tennessee. 
Ajid when the beautiful autumn came around again, 
the Swensons were on their way to Tennessee. 

Annie and William Dyer were married among all 
these conflicting circumstances and settled down on 
the Brazos for awhile, before moving up on Brushy 
creek, where he finally located. Swenson, anxious 



HYPHENATED 131 

to see his sister and brother-in-law have a good start 
in life, assisted them materially. 

And so the center and nucleus of a promising coloni- 
zation was torn to pieces and scattered without any 
plans for the future. The great question was how to 
readjust persons and conditions to meet these new 
problems that had arisen so suddenly. 

■5P w %• "7? -sS" *js* w 

The Swensons were traveling by the popular water- 
way, the Mississippi, on one of those palatial steamers 
— -the height of luxury in those days. The October 
air was bracing and invigorating and Mrs. Swenson 
seemed to improve and gain new strength. They were 
sitting on the parlor deck in the beautiful moonlight 
with shawls and wraps around, ready for any change 
in the atmosphere. 

"I am thinking of the Brazos tonight," she said. 
"Do you know, Swenson, I have often wished of late, 
that we could have given the slaves their liberty. It 
seems to me like leaving humans in captivity, and 
walking away with the key to their locked chains, 
in your hand. ? ' 

"Yes, dear," he admitted, "I know how you feel 
about it, but are we not all slaves of our destiny ? The 
fetters of circumstances which are riveted around 
our lives, who can unlock them ? I declare this break- 
ing up of our conditions in life weighs more 



132 HYPHENATED 

heavily on me than the bondage does on the young, 
carefree negro boy or girl that learns to do a day's 
work and gets his food and clothes without any 
further worry. Besides, the free negro has a hard 
time of it, unless his old master lives close by and can 
advise him, stand up for him occasionally, and be 
his standby. The freedom is going to come to these 
people some day. It cannot be very far off. Just 
listen to that conversation over yonder. ' ' 

"I'll tell you stranger, we ain't going to stand it 
much longer," said a deep voice quivering with emo- 
tion. 

"What in h — 11 do you propose to do about it? 
Come down here and take our property and rights 
as citizens away from us, hey?" said a gruff, unculti- 
vated voice. "I'll tell you what, my Yankee friend, 
if you think one wrong is going to correct another, 
you are mistaken"— 

"The air is full of it," observed Swenson. "You 
cannot help feeling it and hearing it wherever you 
go. If our people only had eyes and ears and could 
read the signs of the time, they would try to meet 
the issue and solve it in a peaceful way. Nothing is 
ever gained by violence. ' ' 

"Well," she admitted, "perhaps it is best to be 
out of the whole business like we are." 



HYPHENATED 133 

"I know one thing," resumed Swenson, "I would 
not invest in a plantation and slaves again. ' ' 

"What would you rather invest in?" 

"Oh, I would invest all we have in restoring you 
to health," he exclaimed suddenly. "Otherwise, I 
think a good mercantile business and investment in 
land is a very safe course to follow. ' ' 

"Oh, it is always land, land; that is your hobby^ 
Swenson. What do you want all this worthless land 
for?" 

"It will be worth money some day, when we get 
people here to till it." 

"And what good wall it do us when we come to 
die?" 

"It will do us some good while we live, if we can 
help others get a chance to make a living. There are 
hundreds, nay thousands of my countrymen, just as 
good workmen as those that came over last fall. You 
see how they can work and handle an axe. Well, 
they will make any good, well located land, valuable 
where they can be induced to settle." 

"I guess you are right, my dear." 

"Besides," mused Swenson softly, "I have often 
thought of locating in Austin and starting with mer- 
chandise on a large scale. The climate is healthy, the 
country is growing, and the future for business is 



134 HYPHENATED 

bright. I believe it would be just as good for you 
up there as in Tennessee." 

"Why didn't you tell me that before ?" 

"Because I would rather give up every prospect 
in the world and see you get well, my dear ; but let us 
go down where it is warm." 

The raw, chilly fall weather in central Tennessee 
basin with its low altitude, was anything but beneficial, 
and Mrs. Swenson was sinking rapidly. Bleedings and 
new hemorrhages of the lungs made it plain to every 
one around her that the end was drawing near. No 
one understood it better, and spoke with more resigna- 
tion about the change coming than she did. 

She tried to rally, and show her younger friend 
Cora McCready under whose hospitable roof she was 
sheltered, some of her former interest, but there is a 
limit to even a good will and a cheerful mind. The 
strong desire to see and be near her cousin when she 
passed away seemed peculiar, but the cousin was soon 
to learn the reason. 

"Cora," she said one day when they were alone 
in the little, cozy sitting room where the rays of the 
sun filtered in through the naked limbs of the trees 
that grew outside, "do you remember the letter you 
wrote me about the husband you will eventually 
marry? ff 

Cora did not remember. "Don't you remember you 



HYPHENATED 135 

wrote me that the husband had to be ' pretty much like 
that young Swede, ' if you were going to have one ? ' ' 

"Well, what if I did?' ' 

' ' My dear Cousin, listen ■ You know that I am going 
to pass away sooner or later. I have made myself 
familiar with that thought. It has no terror for me, 
and I trust my Savior to help me through when the 
time comes, but I am thinking of you. If I could 
only make you happy in some way. I tell you, 
Cousin, a good thoughtful and considerate husband 
doesn't grow on every tree, and marriage is much 
like a lottery. You don't know your lot in life until 
it is cast in with someone — for better or worse. But 
there is Swenson, as good a man as you will ever find. 
I know him. And there is the property, the most of 
it came from our families. There is no one I would 
rather see enjoy partnership in it than you. You 
know it has always been a peculiar trait with me that 
I wanted to share my good things with others, and 
make everybody around me satisfied. I have this 
desire stronger than ever. Don 't you think you could 
love Swenson a little bit after I am gone, Cora ? ' ' 

Miss Cora sat bolt upright with staring eyes. "You 
are not delirious, Cousin," she said and felt her pulse. 

' ' Delirous ? No, I never felt more level-headed in 
all my life." 

But, Cousin, who ever talked like that about mar- 



136 HYPHENATED 

riage — and their own husband — at the approach of 
death? It is unnatural." 

She smiled. "Is it so foolish? I thought I was 
talking real good common sense. But then I admit 
I have always been a little peculiar about these things. 
When, for example, Swenson came to our place, I 
liked him right away and enjoyed to have him at 
the table, and carry on a conversation with him. If 
I could have found him a suitable wife it would have 
been my pleasure to see him well married. Same way 
with young Dyer, and Swenson 's sister. I have al- 
ways been interested in love matches, and I assisted 
them all I could. Why should not people be happy in 
this world?" 

"Well that terrible fellow gave me enough of Texas 
slavery. It made a red hot abolitionist of me." 

"But, dear, that was only on one occasion that his 
ambition carried him too far. He was sorry for it 
afterwards, and Swenson says that no man is more 
loyal or ambitious to please his friends than Dyer." 

But Cora was a doubting Thomas in a feminine 
form, and if she thought otherwise in her secret mo- 
ments, she concealed it. 

Mrs. Swenson did not meet the frankness and under- 
standing she hungered for, and was willing to ex- 
change with others. Perhaps she was a little delirious 
at times. Perhaps her peculiar benevolence turned 



HYPHENATED 137 

into weakness. But it was a persistent idea that pos- 
sessed her. Rigorous in self-scrutiny, she came near 
condemning herself — under great physical debility — 
for thoughts and temptations that she was absolved 
from. 

So she took it up with her husband the next time 
they had a private conversation together. 

"Do you know, Swenson, what is going to be my 
last wish?" she asked. "I wish you would marry 
Cora when I am gone." 

"But, my dear — " 

"Listen, and don't interrupt me. I have a con- 
fession to make, and you know 'an honest confession 
is good for the soul. ' That girl loved you well enough 
to have married you many years ago, if it had not 
been for this cruel, wicked woman that you married. ' ' 

"But, dear—" 

"Now listen and be quiet. It was I who ridiculed 
the idea, that she was falling in love with a peddler. 
And she believed me and gave you up. Otherwise 
you would have married a healthy, beautiful woman 
and been a happy husband today, instead of being 
chained to a doomed life." 

1 ' But, dear, didn 't you try to pull off a love match 
between Miss Cora and myself ? ' ' 

"Yes, didn't I? And was I not so selfishly glad 
when you wrote me that love letter. And did I not 



138 HYPHENATED 

accept your courtship so greedily, without thinking 
or caring what became of my dear loving, and 
sacrificing cousin. But it served me right. I was not 
going to possess my enjoyment long. And I want to 
pull the thorn out of my heart while I live. I wish 
so much to set right the wrong I have done while I 
can. Promise me, dear, to respect my last wish.' 7 

"But suppose she doesn't want me, what then?" 

"Then you are free." 

' ' Don 't you know, Jeanette, that you are delirious ? ' ' 

"Yes, that is what Cora says also, when I talk 
about this thing." 

"Have you spoken to her, also, about it?" 

"Why, yes, can't you understand I must set it 
right before I go?" 

"But I will never believe that you were deceitful 
about these things," he said. 

"Don't the catechism say that the heart is a de- 
ceitful thing and full of wickedness ? ' ' 

' ' But doesn 't the good book say : ' That He will give 
you a new heart ? ' Do you know, I believe your emo- 
tions, temptations and thoughts, are getting mixed up, 
until, in your weak condition, you accuse yourself 
of being guilty and accountable for every flitting 
thought that has crossed your mind? Can't you drop 
it and go to sleep?" 

"Perhaps you are right. I will try and sleep now. 



HYPHENATED 139 

'An honest confession/ you know — " and she winked 
with her rougish eye, that used to win her so many 
friends during former years. Then she dropped off 
to sleep. 

But there was no escape from her favorite thought. 
She referred to it time and again. Even in the pres- 
ence of both her dearest friends. It was embarras- 
ing, but there was so much love and good will mani- 
fested at the same time, that they had no remarks, to 
the contrary, to offer. 

" It is a weakness of mind which we will have to bear 
with patience," observed Swenson to Miss McCready 
one day. 

And this "weakness" increased in strength as it 
drew near the last struggle. 

"I want to hold your hands, like Ed wanted to 
hold my hands," she said one day. "You, Swenson, 
must hold my right hand, and Cora my left hand. 
Then I can die peacefully." 

And so she passed away peacefully and smiling one 
early morning, whispering to herself: "I know, I 
know — I — know — ' ' 

Whether her mind was enfeebled by her weakness 
or not, there was no chance to dodge the issue she 
had so persistently presented to them. They tried 
to look each other in the face as they spoke, they 
tried to appear natural, and take the inevitable as 



140 HYPHENATED 

calmly as possible. They tried to give each other 
to understand that it was a peculiar, unaccountable 
turn of mind, her wishes had taken during the last 
weeks. But Swenson felt it his duty, when the last 
care that loving hands could give the remains had 
been performed, to have a plain understanding with 
Miss McCready. So he sought an interview at the 
earliest moment. 

"Miss McCready/' he said at the breakfast table 
the morning after the funeral, "we have taxed your 
hospitality to the utmost, and perhaps your patience 
also. I don't want to risk your displeasure by offer- 
ing compensation. But how can I do something, that 
will evidence my gratitude? If absolute silence will 
be the most agreeable to you, I will not say one word 
in addition. But, if, on the other hand, we could 
speak calmly wdthout hurting each others feelings, 
and without disrespect to the one departed, whom we 
both loved so well; if we could speak frankly about 
what has transpired, before I depart, I would much 
prefer that." 

She turned pale, but bowed her head in silence. 

"It seems to me," he resumed, "that this deathbed 
has sobered and mellowed everything in connection 
with it. Everything — the grief, the eventualities, the 
inevitable, the forestallments of things possible — 
everything was arranged beforehand. And now, a 



HYPHENATED 141 

great calm is hovering over it all. If I had to go 
down again to that plantation on the Brazos, I would 
pity myself even beforehand, but now I am spared 
that torture. And it seems to me that grieving after 
her is too sacred to be indulged in. Her life has been 
such a perfect one, that it has been a blessing to 
everyone privileged to come under her influence. It 
has sanctified and hallowed everything, even the hal- 
lucination that her weak mind was working under, 
and which, otherwise, would have been intolerable to 
both of us. I don't ask you to forgive. I know you 
have done that long ago." 

"But," interrupted Miss McCready, "do you think 
she was irresponsible — out of her mind, when she 
spoke of these things?" 

"Yes," he replied, "when she accused herself of 
the wickedness of her heart, I think she was a little 
bit beside herself. She was a thoroughly good woman. 
Good through and through. But she may have been 
rational in her other wish, and if it is as sacred to 
you as it is to me, I would suggest to you, Miss Mc- 
Cready, that we try to respect and consider her wish, 
and find out the inclination of our hearts during the 
next twelve months. It is a peculiar situation which 
few, if any, people in this world are called upon to 
face, but do you know of any other way to meet the 
difficulty?" 



142 HYPHENATED 

She raised her eyes and met his for an instant. 

"If that is your wish, Mr. Swenson, I will agree 
with you. It is not because I have lacked suitors 
that I am unmarried. But I have decided if I am 
ever going to marry, I want a husband to whom I 
can look up and respect. I have the highest ad- 
miration for your principles of honor, Mr. Swenson. 
There is only one objection: I will never settle down 
on a plantation and have slaves worked around me 
like souless animals.' ' 

Mrs. Swenson and I had decided that question 
already," he answered. 

He arose from the table at the same time with 
her. ' ' Let it be a twelve month probation then, ' ' he 
said. "Sometime, I will call and learn our fate. In 
the meantime, let me thank you," he grasped her 
hand and held it in his — for a minute — ' ' let me thank 
you for what you have done for us," he raised her 
hand and kissed it reverently. It was such a knightly 
action, mated with gratitude, that it seemed to her 
perfectly natural, and in a few minutes he was gone. 

She watched his form as he strode with slow, 
measured steps down to the horse lot to get his riding 
horse. "If anyone is ever going to win my heart, 
he will," she wispered to herself. "But, good Lord," 
she breathed at the same moment, "what a thought to 
be bartering for love and marriage before the corpse 



HYPHENATED 143 

of the first wife is cold in her coffin. Surely 'the 
heart is a depraved and deceitful thing, and who is 
able to fathom it'." 

But out in the kitchen, Aunt Dinah exclaimed to 
the two maids: "Good Lawd a massy! I tink de 
world done cum ta an end. Here's Mist ess jes put in 
de groun' yisterday, and Marse Swenson makes lub 
to Mis' McCready a 'ready. I d'clar, I nebber seen 
sich lak." 

6 ' Das b 'cas you 's a free nigger, sis Armstrong, ' ' one 
of the maids observed. 

"Free nigger, nuttin', Dinah sputtered. "Dis 
po ole 'oman gwine ter stay wid my people s'long 
as I lib." 

But there was no need of complaining of those two, 
so strangely linked together by the whim of a dying 
mortal. Swenson departed for New York and was 
soon occupied with mercantile plans and pur- 
chases. But after a week's work and mingling with 
the multitudes he always sat down when the Sab- 
bath approached, and wrote a respectful, tender let- 
ter to the lone woman in central Tennessee, who 
kept the grave of her beloved cousin supplied with 
fresh flowers. 

Odd, how a third person can influence the lives 
of two others, long after death! 



CHAPTER XI 
BEGINNING ANEW. 

Sam Houston continued as the representative of the 
"Lone Star State" in the Senate at "Washington, 
whittled his pine shingles, wore his blanket, defended 
the Indians whenever they needed the influence of a 
friend in the legislative gathering of lawmakers at 
the Capitol; opposed in his memorable speech of 
1854 the "Kansas and Nebraska Bill," and voted 
against the Leecompton constitution of Kansas. Be- 
tween times he "said nothing," save "muttering," 
and "whittled shingles." P. Hansbrough Bell was 
the efficient Governor serving two terms, or up to 
1853. The Indians were finally moved out of Texas, 
and settled on the Indian reservation north of Red 
River, and what was once considered an unsafe fron- 
tier, became a safe country to colonize. Plans and 
contracts for railroads were ^considered and later 
realized. By 1855 thirty-two miles of track were 
completed from Harrisburg to the Brazos river op- 
posite Richmond. Later it was extended to Brenham, 
and finally in 1871 completed to Austin. 




SIR SWEXTE PALM 



HYPHENATED 145 

The sectional strife over the location of the State 
Capitol made Swenson "make haste slowly." But 
when the strife of 1850 was ended, he concluded to 
go on with his mercantile plans for all there was in 
it. On his way back from New York, he paid Miss 
McCready a short visit (letters had paved the way 
for a fair understanding between the two friends), 
and coming down the Mississippi, and up the Brazos 
he sought out his old friend and reliable kinsman, 
Swente Palm. 

Palm 's term as postmaster had expired, and he was 
ready to fall in with Swenson in his big plans. 

"We will sell out the business here in La Grange,' ' 
proposed Swenson, ' ' and then I will give you one-fifth 
interest in our big business in Austin, and 20% of 
our profits. In my absence you will be the manager, 
and we will both do well." 

So they agreed and succeeded in disposing of the 
store and its contents. 

1 ' It seems to me, ' ' observed Swenson one day when 
they were calculating on the original investment, the 
progress, and final net profit, "that you are not an 
energetic business man, Palm. You have not made 
much headway with this business. If I cannot do bet- 
ter in Austin than this, I would quit before I started. ' ' 

Palm colored slightly. "Have you noticed my 
library?" he asked. 



146 HYPHENATED 

1 i Library ? What do you want a library for ? ' ' 

1 ' Because I don 't want to become a goldplated bar- 
barian with riches, with no sense to enjoy a good thing. 
Which do you value most, Swenson: a refined person 
or his riches?" 

1 ' Oh, I guess I appreciate both, ' ' he answered with 
a shrewd little smile. 

"Yes, but will riches produce a refined tempera- 
ment ?" 

"It will enable you to have a whole lot of things 
necessary to leading a refined life." 

"True! but if you put a ring of gold in the nose 
of a pig — " 

"He will still be a pig." 

"Exactly! Now listen: I am not going to be a 
pig with a ring of gold in my nose. It is true I 
have invested a couple of thousand dollars in books. 
Come here," he added with pride, "and I will show 
them to you, but it is my own money. 9 ' He opened the 
door to a small neat room with a writing desk and 
shelves full of books. Hundreds of them. 

"My goodness! Palm," Swenson exclaimed, "that 
is a whole wagon load, and a dead capital that will 
never bring any return." 

Palm straightened up, and looked hard at Swenson 
through his glasses. "It is books and learning that 
have made me an efficient man along my lines, and is 



HYPHENATED 147 

enabling me to fill a position as Secretary to General 
Ward, if he decides to accept the nomination to Pan- 
ama as ambassador. ' ' 

"What! Old 'Pegleg Ward'? Well, I guess he 
needs someone to write his Government reports." 

"He is not the only one of our prominent men de- 
ficient in learning. Have you noticed how 'Old Ja- 
cinto ' writes his name ? ' ' 

"Sam Houston, of course." 

"Yes, I know. But when old Captain Bragg re- 
ceived a pretty pompous letter from Houston awhile 
back (you knew he always held a grudge against 
'Old Sam') and came to the signature of Houston, 
the old gentlman came near choking with rage. 

" 'I believe 'Sam' is going stark crazy!' he said. 
' He always was fond of big words and flowery oration, 
and all that, but now he winds up his letter and 
says, "I am Houston",' and he showed me the letter. 
'Captain,' says I — recognizing his mistake at a glace, 
'that is the way General Houston always signs his 
name.' He looked at me long and hard. 'Do you 
believe that truly?' he said at last. I had a hard 
time convincing him of his mistake." 

Swenson pulled a letter from his pocket. "I had a 
letter from him some time ago, but never paid any 
attention to the way he writes his name. " But looking 
over the latter part of the letter — "there it is all 



148 HYPHENATED 

right. 'I am Houston.' Funny, isn't it? Well, 
Houston is a great man nevertheless; much greater 
than AYard. You have not promised Ward have you ? ' ' 

"If you think I am such a spendthrift and unam- 
bitious man, as you hint at, I am greatly inclined to 
accept his offer." 

"Now, Palm, we are not going to fall out about 
these things. But I will not listen to your going to 
Panama. I want one in whom I can have absolute 
confidence, and you know I trust you. You see, Palm, 
I have not abandoned my colonization plan yet. I 
want to bring our people up to some higher, more 
healthy location. Then I intend to go, and bring over 
some more colonists from the Old Country. But we 
must help those we have already here. I intend to 
visit Aunt Anna and her boys up at New Ulm, on 
my way to Austin. If I can induce them to settle 
upon Brushy creek, where I have some land, I wall 
do so. In the meantime I want you to superintend 
the business in Austin. It would not do to leave it 
in the hands of unknown or unreliable persons." 

"Well, and how is the courtship proceeding, Swen- 
son?" 

1 ' How is your own proceeding, Palm ? ' ' 

"Well, Miss Aim and her sister, Laura, write 
me that they intend to risk the deep blue sea, pirates, 
Indians, and all, and come over next year or the 



HYPHENATED 149 

year after. I wish they would. I am tired of this 
bachelor mode of living. " 

"When is Miss McCready coming down?" 
"I really cannot tell you anything about it, Palm. 
You must understand that these things are almost 
sacred to me. It is less than six months since my 
wife was laid away." 

' ' Forgive me, Swenson, I am a thoughtless brute. ' r 
"With all your book learning? Yes, I forgive you 
freely. ' ' 

So the two friends separated. Palm to remain in 
La Grange until he was needed in Austin. Swenson 
visited Aunt Anna, living near New Ulm with her 
six boys. They tried their best in the new country — 
in which they had so early lost the father and hus- 
band — to till the soil and raise something of a crop. 
They did not suffer any privation worse than other 
new settlers, thanks to the willing boys who, although 
young, worked like men to help the brave mother, 
but they were lonesome, separated from their kin- 
folks. Neighbors were kind like all new settlers gen- 
erally are, one to another, but everybody had their 
own hands full, providing for their own needs. "I 
don't complain, Swenson," the brave woman said, 
"but sometimes I wish I could have a good cup of 
coffee, once more. We have not had a coffee bean in 
the house for six months. ' ' 



150 HYPHENATED 

Swenson was deeply moved. "You shall have all 
the coffee, Aunt Anna, that you want. Send August 
up to San Felipe for it. I will leave an order there 
for you. Sugar can be raised, and purchased here 
cheap enough. I will see that you get some good 
coffee." Then he unfolded his plans for the future. 
"And if you can spare August, I will take him in my 
employ in Austin, and make a good clerk, and maybe 
a merchant out of him. You know I wanted to bring 
him with me when I was home in Sweden on my visit 
in '47; but you could not spare him then. If you 
will dispose of your property here, and move up on 
my land on Brushy creek you can have all the land 
you and the boys can work up there free of charge, 
until we make some other arrangement. Dyer and 
Annie are going to move up there. It is a healthy, 
fertile, well watered and beautiful country and no 
Indians now, to bother you. By and by we will get 
some more of our people together there. You will be 
nearer to me then, and I can help you and assist you 
oftener." 

And leaving new thoughts, hopes, and plans, he de- 
parted for Austin. August went in the little old 
Swedish wagon to bring home that much coveted 
and prized coffee. It proved to be a big sack weigh- 
ing 165 pounds, the choicest coffee, and August re- 



HYPHENATED 151 

marked to his mother on coming home with his treas- 
ure: "Mother, ain't we rich now?" 

Oh, the pioneer days of our early settlers ! If they 
could be printed, painted and described in all their 
simplicity, with their hardships and sacrifices, borne 
with such patience. Their pitiful death and burial 
scenes, with hopes "springing eternal in the human 
heart," and hopes blasted, and the slow evolution, out 
of which present day conditions have developed, we 
would always keep the memory green of those faithful 
toilers who laid the foundation, but reaped so little 
reward themselves. 

And right here we will leave Aunt Anna, parching 
her coffee, according to the old-time rules, and drink- 
ing and enjoying "once more" a good cup of coffee. 

Austin had a population of 639 souls in 1850. After 
the "second runaway scrape" in 1842, the poulation 
increased slowly, but steadily. The old Bullock tav- 
ern, which came very near going out of business to- 
gether with other famous boarding establishments and 
mercantile houses, during the removal of the Govern- 
ment in 1842 and succeeding years, was again doing 
business under new management. Ziller erected his 
stone building, the first of its kind in Austin, and 
Lamar Moore built his brick building. George Han- 
cock conducted his business where the Scarbrough 
building now stands and one block north of the mag- 



152 HYPHENATED 

nificent Littlefield building and adjoining the Gov- 
ernor's "Mansion" (a small, simple house in those 
days), Swenson rented a store building from "Dutch 
John" right in front of his bakery, and at an early 
date he purchased the lot on which the Majestic 
Theatre and the Avenue Hotel now stand. The air 
was full of bustle and enterprise. Capital and in- 
vestments were evidenced on every hand. It was a 
pull — "a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all 
together" for a "Greater Austin," and the decade 
before the civil war, saw Austin develop by leaps 
and bounds, and the population increased to nearly 
four thousand souls. 

Swenson and Palm were together once more. They 
slept, boarded, planned, and rode together. They 
purchased mules and wagons, harness and feedstuff. 
They made acquaintances and were introduced to new 
people and met old friends at unexpected turns. Gov- 
ernor Bell, coming and going from his "mansion" to 
or from the "capitol" (standing near where the new 
City Hall is erected) would occasionally stop for a 
friendly chat to learn a little of their intention. 

"Going to buy any hands when you start up," he 
inquired one day. ' ' I guess I could put you in touch 
with a gentleman who wants to sell plantation, slaves 
and all. Good money in that line, if you know how to 
run it." 



HYPHENATED 153 

But Swenson said : * ' No, we will need no slaves. ' ' 

1 ' But how are you going to get the work done ? You 
must have men." 

Then Swenson unfolded his pet scheme; how he 
intended to bring over colonists to help develop the 
country, to use free men as teamsters and tillers of 
the soil, to trade with them and build up business and 
commerce. "We are negotiating right now to bring 
over some Swedes from the Old Country. They ought 
to be as good and desirable immigrants as the Ger- 
mans. ' ' 

"Well, we need a good class of people to settle this 
old Empire. Bring them over here, Swenson, by all 
means. I would rather have the real colonists that 
want to till the soil, than these northern agitators 
who just stir up strife and discontent over the slavery 
question wherever they go." 

1 ' But we will have to face that issue some day, Gov- 
ernor." 

The Governor looked at him sharply. ' ' You are not 
an abolitionist, are you?" 

Swenson looked him in the face. "I am for Texas 
first, last, and all the time. I believe in this State, 
and I am investing all I possess here." 

' ' Which is not a very small sum either, I have heard. 
Well, good morning. I wish you good luck, and if 



154 HYPHENATED 

you need any assistance in your colonization work, 
4on't hesitate to call on me, Swenson. " 

"Fine man," observed Swenson to Palm, "even 
if he believes in slavery with all his soul. ' ' 

These two men rode out east of town one day, to 
look at some property for sale. "This Fountleroy 
property with its 400 acres can be bought very 
reasonable." Swenson confided to Palm. "I need a 
place near town for a home where I can have room 
for both servants and animals, where I can raise some 
feedstuff and have a little elbow room. This location 
up here on the plateau, overlooking the bottom lands, 
is one of the finest views, and the coziest place, at the 
same time, that I have seen around here. Hamilton 
intends to buy the estate across the creek. He will 
make a good neighbor, which is very important. ' ' 

So the transaction was concluded, and the property 
became the Swenson homestead for many a year to 
come. A lot was bought near the Avenue and the 
store, and later, a house was built that for almost 
half a century, was the home of the late Consul and 
Knight, Sir Swente Palm. 

By the end of the year, the preliminary prepara- 
tions were perfected, by the help of some of the im- 
migrants from the party which arrived in 1848, some 
making good foremen, others teamsters. The ex- 



HYPHENATED 155 

pected immigrants from the Old Country arrived. 
The goods for the store arrived and were hauled first 
from Houston, and later from Richmond and Bren- 
ham. Swente Palm was the agent in Swenson's ab- 
sence. Daniel Heard was foreman. Aunt Anna's 
second son, August, was employed as one of the clerks. 
Bergstrom, Berryman, the Munsons, Holmstrom, and 
others arrived from time to time and were employed. 
Some farmed and raised crops. The two hub centers 
of this busy life were the store in town and the home 
place on Go Valle. The watchmaker and jeweler, 
Gustav Palm, a third uncle, moved up from La 
Grange, and opened up a shop in Austin. The trade 
prospered in the new store, and the saying went 
around in later years- — but what is the use of telling 
the income in dollars of a day's sale. Suffice it to say, 
that it often went into sums of four numbers — a great 
sum of money in those days. 

Meanwhile William Dyer moved up and settled 
on Brushy creek, and the year after, they were fol- 
lowed by Aunt Anna and her five sons, who lived 
in a camp on the creek until they could get a log 
house. Today the prosperous settlement is known as 
Palm Valley. 

The Nelsons, Hurds, Palms, Munsons, and others 
joined the nucleous of that prosperous colony, which 
gave promise and indication of a healthy normal 



156 HYPHENATED 

growth. The outlook was bright, the progress along 
all lines was encouraging, and Swenson laid bigger 
plans than ever. Surely the "beginning anew" this 
time, was along safe and sure lines. 

The only shadow threatening was the sectional 
strifes, brewing between North and South. 



CHAPTEE XII 

A DREAM WHICH CAME TRUE. 

During 1851, Swenson made a trip North. There 
was an eventual understanding with Palm that the 
trip might be extended to Sweden with the object 
in view of securing more colonists. There were also 
certain allusions, that he might come back a married 
man, bringing his wife with him. And there were 
instructions as to what should be done if that were 
the case. 

"If I am going to bring a wife home, there will 
have to be certain improvements, overhauling, house- 
painting, and tidying up on the place, ' ' he said, i i but 
I will let you know in time. If anything happens 
to me, if I should die and not show up, there are 
certain letters and documents deposited with Shep- 
herd in Houston, that will give directions about 
everything. 

"When I come back, and have everything in shape, 
Palm, we will build a three-story building on the 



158 HYPHENATED 

corner, that will be occupied as a first-class hotel, and 
then we will build a big store and warehouse. Then 
we will be ready to do business on a bigger scale 
than ever. Goodbye!" 

And with these instructions he departed. 

He visited B. A. Shepherd as usual, and then went 
on his way to Tennessee. The letters between him and 
Miss McCready during the more than twelve months 
that had passed, convinced him, more than ever, that 
he had a woman of character, and capability to deal 
with. She was not going to fall in his arms like a 
ripe peach, that was one thing certain. And, like 
most determined men, that trait of character only 
made him more eager to capture the prize. Surely it 
must be a prize for a man in his circumstances, so 
often away on business as he was, to have a wife with 
a firm hand who could rule and direct the home affairs 
in his absence; what a comfort that must be. And 
besides, wasn't she a refined woman, beautiful and 
respected? It was a wonder no one else had carried 
that treasure away long before. What if her love 
for him had been a steady but well concealed affection 
all these years. He felt his heart beat harder at this 
thought. Some women leave all that for a man to 
find out. Like the closed oyster with the pearl, they 
leave it to the man who is to be the husband to find 
out. If he makes the mistake of passing the one with 



HYPHENATED 159 

the pearl of the hidden love, the proud woman will 
let him go, and be more reserved than ever. He had 
seen such women, too, in his day. What if Miss Mc- 
Cready was such a woman? But that was character, 
after all. He, the level-headed business man, who 
could with a calm smile on his face drive a bargain 
that involved thousands of dollars, felt strangely 
nervous when the Elmville farmstead came in sight, 
imbedded in the fresh, deep green color of the elms 
growing around the house. He had prepared a little 
speech, but he could not remember it. Miss Mc- 
Cready was on the porch, the picture of all that was 
fresh, healthy and lovely. She was dressed like she 
was going out, or maybe she had company ? "What an 
awkward situation for a man on a love errand! For 
a moment he forgot his business plans and cold cal- 
culation, and the thought flitted across his mind as 
he came up the walk: "Oh, if I could only have a 
home with her at my side. ' ' 

How they talked over the past and builded for the 
future is the same old story of love and hope and 
realization. Cora McCready, with independent ideas 
far ahead of the times, acknowledged she was glad 
to shift her burden on his strong and capable 
shoulders. 

"I have tried to hold out till you would come. 
I was too proud to let my kinspeople know what it 



160 HYPHENATED 

cost me to keep a stiff upper lip; now I understand 
how much I have been longing for you — needing you. ' ' 

"Yes," he acquiesced, "I think it is a dangerous 
game to play, when a man and a woman needing 
the company and counsel of one another, try to keep 
away from each other. I get so heart weary and soul- 
sick of all the bustle, sharp trades and dickerings 
in this world, that I don't know what will become 
of me, if I cannot have a home and be surrounded 
by homelike comforts now and then. 

"I tell you, Sue, the redemption of the South will 
have to be made by good women. Otherwise we will 
develop into brutes down there/ ' 

She colored slightly. "How did you find out my 
middle name?" she wondered. 

"Oh, even a stupid man, can find out something 
about the woman he worships. I like Sue better than 
Cora." 

"And I never could stand Sue," she laughed, "just 
because we had a big, scrawny, lazy, longeared mule 
on father's place, and the boys were always teasing 
me about old lazy Sue. But it sounds very different 
from your lips." 

"Were you expecting company, Sue?" 

"Yes, I was waiting for you." 

"And how did you know at what time I was 
coming V 9 



HYPHENATED 161 

"I knew when the packet steamer was arriving at 
Memphis. Also when the stage arrives at Lexington/' 

"And so you have been expecting me ever since 
last week? "Let us take a ride in the buggy I took 
at Lexington. The horses are fresh yet. I want 
to take you out behind two of the best horses I have 
ever traveled behind in all my life. ,? 

"But you must have a bite to eat and a cup of 
coffee after the long ride. No one shall go out of 
my house fasting." 

' ' I have had a feast already, Sue. ' ' 

"Then we will make it a double one."- 

She led him to the table — already set — she poured 
the coffee, she proffered him the dainty dishes her 
own hands had prepared. And he relished it to her 
evident satisfaction. What woman does not like to 
see her cooking appreciated? 

"This tastes better than hotel life or boarding 
house fare." he observed, drinking his third cup of 
coffee. "Oh, Sue! if you only knew how I long for 
a home with you presiding at the table. But let us 
take our ride." 

After a long ride through the green shaded roads, 
they passed the well kept cemetery, where his first 
wife was buried, and he knew Sue McCready had made 
many pilgrimages to that spot. 

"This has been your shrine, Sue, where you have 



162 HYPHENATED 

been worshipping," he managed to say, as he bared 
his head in mute reverence. ' ' She was our good star 
after all, and has sanctioned this tie by her desire. 
I could not see then how wise and loving she was, or 
what a clear vision she had. But we cannot live in 
the past. The present forces us along, whether we 
want to or not." 

"If I thought I was robbing her of the rightful 
place in your life," she said, "I would not sit here 
by your side, even now." 

"You would be robbing her of the satisfaction she 
had set her heart on attaining, if you withdrew from 
my side now." 

He stopped suddenly: 

"Say, my dear, why could we not step over to 
Parson Whipple, and have the marriage ceremony 
tonight. Then we will drive over to old man Mc- 
Cready and ask his blessing and a wedding supper. 
Then all remonstrance from the old man is fore- 
stalled." 

"But I am not dressed in a bridal gown." 

"Do you care so much for that, dear?" 

So they caught the good old parson in the cowpen 
pulling, and directing some uncomplimentary re- 
marks, at a strong suckling calf, who evidently tried 
to reduce the milk available to the minimum for the 



HYPHENATED 163 

parson and his pail. " Always tryin' to get more than 
your share/' he grumbled. 

There was no help for it. They had to wait until 
the parson and the calf had divided their spoils, then 
he came in, flustered and perspiring, changed his 
clothing, got his book and was ready just as the sun 
went behind the hills. 

"A little bit unusual and unlooked for, but I guess 
we can tie the knot so it won't slip. You are doing 
the right thing, my children. Nothing like consider- 
ing what is appropriate and right before all men, 
as the good book says." 

So they were married in the summer twilight, with 
the sexton and Mrs. Whipple as witnesses. 

" There is only one thing I disapprove of, Mr. 
Swenson, ' ' he said when the newly made husband and 
wife were ready to depart. "I don't like to lose my 
best parishoner. But I hope you have an Episcopal 
church down there and I will send Mrs. Swenson her 
credentials whenever she is ready to be transf erred.' ' 

"Do you know, dear," the newly wedded wife 
confided to her husband as they sped toward her 
father's estate, "that I dreamed of just such a ride 
as this, that night when you stopped at Lip ton's 
down on the Brazos and I met you there. Do you 
know I dreamed that we were riding in a buggy to- 
gether — ' ' 



164 HYPHENATED 

"Then your "Bream is Coming True/' interrupted 
Swenson, and squeezed her hand. 

" — And we were driving up towards some hills 
studded with shaggy liveoaks and other trees, and 
you pointed with the whip and said: 'There is our 
home up on those hills'." 

He gave her another tender look and said : ' * Your 
dream is coming true." 

She looked up in glad surprise. "Is the house 
really on a hill?" she asked. 

He nodded. "On a hill, yes, and liveoaks all 
around it." 

1 ' Then, I know 1 11 feel at home, ' ' she said. 

Old McCready, who went to bed with the chick- 
ens, had already undressed himself when the dogs 
started their racket. The servants wondered, "Who 
is coming;" and his wife, putting on her spectacles 
for the third time, wondered, "Who in the world it 
could be," when the new couple informally made 
their entrance and were at last ushered into the par- 
lor. 

"Well, I'll be goldarned," the old man spluttered, 
when informed about what was up. "Let me get 
hold of that fellow and give him a good shake. ' ' 

"But father, pull on your pants first," said Mrs. 
McCready. 

"Gimme my Sunday pants then." 



HYPHENATED 165 

So with Sunday shirt unbuttoned, and one sus- 
pender trailing behind, he made haste to get in and 
have a " shake." It proved a very friendly "shake." 

"But children, you cannot run to the parson to- 
night and be married. It is too late." 

"Father, I told you they have already been there," 
said his patient wife. 

"You done been there, hey? Why don't you go 
home like good children then, and behave?" 

"We wanted your blessing, father," Swenson said, 
as they both stood up. 

"Well now, if I had a prayer book, I might read a 
prayer fer yous, but ef yous be good and love your 
Creator and do to others what yous want them to do 
to yous, I reckon yous 11 get along purty well. That's 
all I got to say. Good-night children," and the old 
"fire-eater" stalked off to bed again, without risk- 
ing contaminating himself by conversing with a 
"Union man." 

Old Mrs. McCready had lighted the chandelier and 
was offering refreshments and excuses for the old 
man, alternately. "Have some marmelade, Swenson, 
you know it just riles ' father' more than anything 
when he reads abolition literature, and there is no 
help for it. Now here is some good home-made wine. 
'Father!' " she called, "Won't you come in and join 
us?" 



166 HYPHENATED 

"Gol darn it, you fooled me out of bed oncet, 
that's nuff." 

"Oh come on, Grandpa," said Swenson, greatly 
amused, "and drink a toast for our welfare." 

"Drink yourself," said the old man, "and lemme 
alone, I want to go to sleep." 

So the wedding supper was cut short, and the 
guests departed after listening to many apologies 
for the self-w 7 illed old man who would not even re- 
spond to the cheerful "good-bye" which the newly 
weds called to him as they departed. Instead, he 
turned his deaf ear towards the door and muttered, 
when they were out of the house, "Gol darn it," to 
go and marry a Union man, gol darn it." 

Swenson wanted his wife to go with him to New 
York and later to Sweden, but she declined. She 
could barely stand travel on a river steamboat, and 
the open sea between New Orleans and Galveston 
would nearly kill her. She needed some time to get 
ready for the journey and to make arrangements 
about her property. She would rather not have him 
go either. He might get drowned, but if it was ab- 
solutely necessary, she would not dictate to him. Why 
couldn't he send somebody else to Sweden? And, 
Swenson admitted that she might be right about it. 

So he went alone to New York, purchased goods, 



HYPHENATED 167 

met his old friend General Pearson, was introduced 
to other men of affairs, and got to be rated as a suc- 
cessful Southern business man with ample capital 
behind him. 

It was a beautiful day in the autumn when Swen- 
son returned to Texas with his wife. The promised 
notification pertaining to the renovation of the home 
place had been received in due time, and put in 
execution. Order and neatness were in evidence every- 
where, the store was nearly depleted of goods, 
and the big iron safe nearly full of money, but the 
thing that pleased him most was when his wife, after 
getting home on the hills among the live oaks, ex- 
claimed: "It is just like the place I imagined it 
would be." 

"Well I am glad to hear it," he replied. "But to 
tell the truth, I have dreamed also. I have seen a 
vision of a two-story stone mansion, built of cut white 
limestone, that will be an ornament to the location, 
comfortable to live in, and beautiful to look at. That 
will be our future home here near Austin. But first 
I will have to build a store and warehouse, and the 
hotel building. Then we will see if my dream comes 
as true as yours did." 

So Swenson went to his business, leaving his wife 
with ample help, to improve conditions inside and 
outside his house. 



168 HYPHENATED 

He looked and inquired for Palm. 

"Palm?" said one of the clerks. "He never 
comes down to business before noon, and then he 
reads all day." 

"Why, Swenson," said a prominent man and citi- 
zen, overhearing the conversation, "You ought to 
know that Palm w r as never cut out for a business 
man. He reads all day long, and way into the 
night. He will never amount to anything in the 
store. And I suppose he spends all his income on 
books. He is sending for books continually. ' ' 

That did not sound very promising to Swenson. 

About eleven o 'clock in the morning Palm could be 
seen coming across the Avenue, with red eyelids, pale 
and listless. The two men were going to talk mat- 
ters over a little. 

1 ' You don 't look well, Palm, are you sick ? ' ' 

"No, just a little bit sleepy," (stretching and 
yawning). "I have been interested in the ancient 
"runes" and the translation of them lately. I tell 
you, Swenson, it is mighty interesting literature. Did 
you get the book of the ' Icelanders ' Legends' that I 
asked you to buy?" 

"No, Palm, I did not go to Sweden this time." 

1 ' I see. Well it w r ould be rather hard to ask you to 
go there and trouble yourself with colonists instead 
of honeymooning." 



HYPHENATED 169 

Swenson colored a little. "I would not take a jab 
from anyone else like that, Palm. ' ' 

" As I was saying, ' ' Palm resumed, ' ' these ' runes, ' 
consisting of sixteen characters, were used by the 
Scandinavians and Icelanders in Christ's time — and 
perhaps before that" — and he unfolded his favorite 
theme along the line of his research. 

Swenson frowned a little. "What do I care for 
1 runes' now. I want to talk business. There is noth- 
ing but empty shelves in the store. Have you noticed 
that?" 

' ' Haven 't you noticed the money in the safe, Swen- 
son?" 

"Of course, but couldn't you have replenished the 
stock from Houston, or from San Felipe where they 
have some provisions in stock? Letting the stock run 
out like this is not a good business policy. I think 
you are reading too much, Palm, and giving too lit- 
tle attention to business. We will have to put in our 
best strokes of work in the future, if we are going to 
realize our plans. We will have to throw the books 
aside and work — work hard." 

Now it was Palm's turn to color. He rose up. "I 
won 't stand in the way of your plans, ' ' he said, with 
indignation. "I have not been out of this dusty 
rough little town during the whole summer. You ex- 
pect me to stay here like a chained dog, while you 



170 HYPHENATED 

travel and have a good time, and then you blame 
me for reading. Perhaps it would have been better to 
hang around the saloons and gambling houses, hey? 
Let us quit this fool partnership. I have about made 
up my mind to go with Thomas Ward to Panama. ' ' 

"Well all that may be true, Palm, but you will 
hardly find Panama a more agreeable place than 
Texas; neither will you find Ward an easier man to 
get along with than I am. But you need a vacation, 
Palm, and perhaps a trip to Panama will be all right. 
My advice is, let your partnership stay like it is, and 
when you are tired of Panama come back to your old 
place. I need some one that I can trust and no mat- 
ter if you are a bookworm, you are as good as gold 
when it comes to honesty and character. Let us shake 
hands on that, Palm. There is no need of separating 
like enemies. By the way, when are the Misses Alms 
coming over ? ' ' 

"Well I have sent money for their passage if they 
can muster up courage to come. If not, it is all right. 
But they will go to Gustav in La Grange when they 
arrive. It is arranged that way." And the confer- 
ence ended. 

By the early summer time, 1852, Palm was ready 
to start for Panama. 

Swenson called him in one day. "Let me show 



HYPHENATED 171 

you something, Palm. We just got these in last 
night with the other goods. I purchased quite a lot 
of them up North, but they did not arrive till yester- 
day. They are the new government pistols, made bet- 
ter than any pistols you have ever seen down here. I 
would advise you to take a couple of these six-shooters, 
you could defend yourself a good while with them." 
So they were added to Palm's equipment, and long 
after Palm's home-coming from Panama, were looked 
on as relics. They were made of the bluest steel that 
no rust will ever attack — six-chamber cylinder, with 
cap equipment. 

"And remember, Palm, that the position is open 
to you any time tha:t you wish to return, ' ' said Swen- 
son when taking leave of him. 

Palm's trouble started when he wanted to take hia 
books with him on the journey. A whole wagon load ! 

-"What in do you want to do with all those 

books," Ward wanted to know. "Suppose we get 
wrecked? I thought you had read that darned stuff 
through once. Cut it out, I tell you, if you put any 
value on them. They will never come home again in 
good shape, and deliver me from a book with half 
of the pages gone." 

So Palm had to store his books in Austin, and after 
many vexations caused by Ward's irritable temper, 



172 HYPHENATED 

when the old revolutionary spirit was rampant, they 
departed for Panama, 

"He will come back again a wiser man/' Swenson 
confided to his cousin, the young August, as they 
watched the stage coach "Sam Houston'' carry the 
party off. 

During 1853 several letters came from Palm telling 
of his experience in the Isthmus Eepublic. The liv- 
ing expenses were high, the drouths (when drink- 
ing water had to be hauled for several miles) were 
terrible; the rainy seasons (when rain fell in tor- 
rents) were dismal ; the cathedral with its towers as 
well as other old buildings in the capital, dating from 
the 17th century, were extremely interesting, and the 
literature on their creation and their purpose some- 
thing of superb interest. The earthquakes w T ould dry 
up the wells, and shake up the inhabitants occasionally, 
and last but not least, the construction of the rail- 
road by Totten and Trautwine across the Isthmus was 
calculated to be completed by 1855. Surely this old 
(or new) world was moving some. 

But what effected Palm's mind most of all and up- 
set all his plans of diplomatic advancement — in Pan- 
ama at least — was the advent of the "ladies" from 
Sweden, scheduled to take place during the summer. 
Ward was not exactly a pleasant man in trying cir- 



HYPHENATED 173 

cumstances, and Palm wanted a place and steady work 
when he got married. 

Of course, Swenson wrote and played the father of 
the prodigal son for all there was in it. He would not 
kill the fatted calf exactly, but he would build a 
house on West Ninth — the lot already bought so that 
Palm could move in right away. Yes, the place was 
open for him and he would try to remember his own 
limitations when it came to literature and all that, 
and try to respect Palm's inclination for studies and 
books even if he could not understand. It was a 
compromise and a truce all around. 

In the fall of 1853 the two ladies arrived from 
the old country. The pluck and nerve they had ex- 
hibited in coming the long journey alone and un- 
attended had almost exhausted them. Erect, reserved, 
pale, and exclusive in manner, distrustful in the ex- 
treme and dignified with all, what was their con- 
sternation, on arriving in La Grange to learn that 
Palm was not there. The mail went slowly, and a 
letter or two had evidently been lost. But everything 
turned out satisfactorily when Palm appeared a few 
days later, and a wedding was inaugurated that con- 
cluded the long tedious courtship which had lasted 
since 1841, or nearly twelve years. 

It was whispered around that the young wife (she 
was then 38 years of age) and her sister, were of Fin- 



174 HYPHENATED 

nish birth and belonged to the nobility. One thing 
is certain, old Captain Aim and his family in Cal- 
mar, Sweden, were very exclusive and isolated from 
other people, and it was further said that literary 
talents of no small merit ran in the family veins. One 
aunt (Agnes Enstrom) published a book of poems, 
and the nieces — Agnes and Laura Aim — wrote a small 
"poem" for their mother's birthday as ealrly as 
1824, or when they were, respectively, eight and ten 
years old, back in Sweden. (This poem, and many 
other attempts, gayly colored, from that early period, 
are fondly treasured by relatives in Austin.) 

Among the members of this family Palm had found 
congenial spirits, and later, an esteemed wife. She 
proved to be a valuable help, and a wise counselor, 
and exercised, by her calm and serene temperament, 
a powerful and healthy influence over Palm. 

The home-coming and great dinner at the Swenson 
homestead in Govalle had nothing smacking of the 
"prodigal" returning, save the excellent meat and 
merriment. The newly-wedded couple were certainly 
refined people and entitled to entrance in the best 
families. It showed their good sense that they began 
life in the simplest manner befitting their financial 
standing, and the pioneer community. At the nup- 
tual feast toasts were proposed and drunk. After- 
dinner speeches were made. Governor Pease had ac- 



HYPHENATED 175 

cepted the invitation for the occasion. The Duvals, 
Hamiltons, Paschals, Hancocks, and others of kin- 
dred spirit were present, and the dinner was a pro- 
nounced success. 

"Is not this the way of new republics and govern- 
ments ; today up in the air with ' vivas' a la so and so, 
tomorrow you are thrown in a dungeon and be- 
headed ? ' ' Mrs. Palm managed to say to her husband, 
as they rode home in Swenson's new carriage. 

Palm smiled a rare smile. "If that was the case, I 

would not be living as a married man today. No 

wife, you don't need to worry along those lines." 
jfc .«. j*. jf. je. jfr jfa 

The two men were out together inspecting the build- 
ings that were under construction. ' ' This hotel build- 
ing must be completed before fall," Swenson ex- 
plained. "I have a contract with a hotel concern to 
have it ready at a certain date. A printing establish- 
ment will be put in on the second floor for the ' Aus- 
tin Intelligencer.' A marvelous cylinder press has 
been ordered and will be the first of its kind in Aus- 
tin. This corner is going to hum with business soon. ' ' 

"But it is going to be a hard task to finish it to 
the promised time. ' ' 

' ' It has to be done, ' ' answered Swenson. " If I have 
to hire torch-holders and night masons, I'll have it 
done. ' ' 



176 HYPHENATED 

And subsequent events proved that what he said 
was no idle vision. The torch-holders were employed, 
the masons worked their night shifts, the hotel was 
inaugurated in due time ; the cylinder press revolved, 
and the corner hummed with the industry of the new 
State. 




MRS. S. M. SWENSON 



CHAPTER XIII 

SHADOWS— EVENTS 

Who can do justice to the peculiar conditions, sen- 
timents and personalities before and during the period 
of the Civil War? Who can picture it, without risk- 
ing displeasure and disapproval from one faction or 
the other? Never before, had one race of people stood 
so divided, with such firm convictions on both sides, 
and willing to sacrifice all they had for their con- 
victions. The North seemed to take for granted that 
they could dictate to the South what was going to 
be or not to be. 

The South understood it, that their State rights 
were threatened, and that they had a right to secede. 
There were hotheads on both sides, and sane level- 
headed men on both sides. After all has been said, 
pro and con, we are all glad that the Union was pre- 
served. What this grand country would have be- 
come, if secession had carried the day during the 
Civil War, let the small, weak, South American Re- 
publics, with their continual strife testify. 



178 HYPHENATED 

That we are spared this humiliating spectacle is a 
cause of eternal gratitude to the true patriot, but 
who can not, at the same time, help but honor and 
respect those convictions for which the South fought 
and sacrificed, with such heroic mind. To be sure, if 
there were hot-heads, they did not sneak away from 
their responsibilities in the hour of danger. They 
took their medicine like men. And they were worthy 
of a better treatment than the military regime, which 
the reconstruction period forced upon them. 

Let these explanations illustrate the writer's posi- 
tion when trying to sketch this period. 

Governor Pease, going by the store, would occa- 
sionally step in for a chat with Swenson and Palm. 

"Do you know what Houston said in his letter 
to me the other day, Swenson ?" the Governor said 
one day. 

"He said, 'I am Houston,' didn't he," and both 
smiled. 

"No, he is quite serious. He says that all circum- 
stances point to a coming conflict between the North 
and the South. The northern elements in Congress 
and the Senate, are making new demands on the South 
continually. It looks like a new state cannot be ad- 
mitted into the Union without a wrangle as to whether 
they come in as a free state or as a slave state. Fugi- 
tive slaves are not returned when they run away ; even 



HYPHENATED 179 

criminals are not rim down and punished if they only 
are black, and when the Southern Representatives 
claim State rights, and even the right to withdraw 
from the Union, they are told that they can't do it. 
And they tell them they will use force to keep the 
Union together. The Dred Scott Case is dragged from 
court to court, and the abolitionists declare they will 
carry it to the Supreme Court, and the Southern ele- 
ment are just as determined to have it decided ac- 
cording to the Constitution : that slaves are property, 
over which Congress can no more exercise control than 
over any other property. Excitement is running high 
on both sides, and seems to get worse instead of sub- 
siding." 

"Yes, I know. what that means," Swenson replied. 
"I remember when on my journey North, 1851, they 
had a regular mob riot in Boston, and took a fugi- 
tive slave from the marshal, who had captured him, 
and sent the slave on to Canada. It is not long ago, 
since another mob in the same town attacked the jail 
to free a runaway negro and killed the marshal, while 
another bunch were holding a protest meeting in 
Fanuel Hall, against the fugitive slave law, and its 
application in this particular case." 

"It is not easy to say when this smouldering fire 
will break out in a disastrous conflagration," the 



180 HYPHENATED 

governor said. "What is your opinion of the situa- 
tion, Swenson?" 

"Well, I have seen enough to warrant the belief 
that some States will try to secede. Is there any clause 
in the Constitution to prevent them from doing so?" 

"Not that I know of, Swenson. But the point is: 
Will the North prevent it?" 

"Well, Governor, to me it seems that with the 
North it is a moral question. There is no financial 
gain in it to them. And a man is generally less 
willing to fight for a sentiment, as long as it doesn't 
touch his pocketbook. With the South it includes 
everything connected with their social and economical 
welfare, and they will fight to the last ditch. If the 
North realized it they would hesitate more than once, 
but if they go in for it they will whip us I am afraid. 
They have the men, the wealth, and the moral backing 
of the whole civilized world. ' ' 

"It would be a hardship on this State to have a 
change of government form every ten years or so. 
And if one State can withdraw, then every State has 
a right to withdraw, one from another, at any period 
they choose. ' ' 

"What will become of us then, Governor?" 

"Really, Swenson, I guess we will crawfish back to 
the old tribal state of the red man. We will split up 
in factions." 



HYPHENATED 181 

"I hope something may turn up yet to prevent it, 
but that new book, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin/ is not going 
to help matters any." 

"They say it spread like wildfire up North, Gov- 
ernor. ' ' 

"Yes, I hear so, but that book is radically wrong 
on some subjects." 

"One thing is certain, Governor, it represents a 
deep strong sentiment of the North." 

"What does Palm say about the book?" 

"Oh he thinks it an expression of fanatical enthu- 
siasm, when it comes to set the negro over the white 
race, and make 'the last to be first/ in its desire to 
make unusual geniuses, such as sculptors, painters or 
artists of this race. There may be some oratorical 
and singing talent among them, but I doubt if 
it amounts to more than imitations of what they see 
or hear from the white people." 

So the two men talked and discussed conditions 
without knowing what was in store for either of them, 
and without any clear idea what would be the proper 
attitude on the momentous question that was loom- 
ing up on the political horizon. 

Eumors circulated from time to time that Toombs 
of Georgia had boasted that he would call the roll of 
his slaves from the foot of Bunker Hill monument; 
that the North threatened to "send one of her regi- 



182 HYPHENATED 

ments from Mason and Dixon's line to the Gulf of 
Mexico and whip the rebels into submission. ' ' 

And the "rebels' 7 said they would like to see that 
regiment. 

Rumor had it that Sumner had been "caned" by 
Brooks in the Senate until he could not stand on his 
feet, and it w r as asserted, a white man could not take 
his servant with him into a free State and bring him 
back again a slave. A regular war by ballot and rifle 
was waged in Kansas, and new territories were com- 
ing in as free States continually, thereby increasing 
the number of free States and the representation in 
Congress, both in the House and Senate. 

Sam Houston was opposed to secession as well as 
Douglass, the opponent of Lincoln. Surely it was a 
performance of many colored parties. Had not the 
hard times of 1857, and the establishing of the Atlantic 
cable (completed in 1858) diverted the attention some- 
what from the burning issue, the war might have come 
several years earlier. It came early enough, however. 
But many a Union-loving Southerner hoped that 
Texas, lying on the outskirts of the disturbed terri- 
tory, would be comparatively unaffected by the con- 
flict. Still the feeling ran as high in Texas as else- 
where. 

Palm and a red-hot secessionist were engaged in a 
lively dispute one day. 



HYPHENATED 183 

"You see," Palm said, "it is a moral issue as well 
as a political and economical one. The whole civilized 
world is behind the anti-slavery movement with its 
moral support and sympathy. The same holds true 
in regard to secession. Who ever could sympathize 
with a revolutionary movement calculated to tear a 
country asunder." 

"Yes, and who can sympathize with a man that 
wants to take away your property and reduce you to 
an underling, who undertakes to be your self-ap- 
pointed guardian and administrator? Do you want 
me to sympathize with that kind of management? I 
tell you I won't do it, even if the world has no sense 
to understand what is going on." 

"Yes, but you understand the issue has to be set- 
tled, and if it is going to be settled by force, the 
North will win. ' ' 

"I'll be d — d if they win. You let them send that 
regiment south of Mason and Dixon's to the Gulf, 
that they brag about and we will fix them." 

"Yes, but they will send a hundred more, and may- 
be a thousand. You have no idea of the resources of 
the North." 

' ' I don 't care if a man is two or three times bigger 
than I am. If he tries to take something away from 
me that don't belong to him, I'll fight him." 

"I would be careful to see that I was in lawful 



184 HYPHENATED 

possession of the property before I started a fight/ ' 
Palm said. 

"Well, ain't possession nine points out of ten in a 
dispute ? ' ' 

"Men might be in possession of certain things when 
the Divine Judgment overtakes them and metes out 
the just punishment, just because they are found in 
possession of them, and I am very much inclined to 
believe that the Divine Judgment is at the door. ' ' 

' i Oh, come Palm, don 't you think nobody reads the 
Bible and understands it but you? I admit that the 
prophet Daniel speaks about the last days and the 
end, when the knowledge shall be great, but don't 
you know that when the king of the North and the 
king of the South have had their campaign and for- 
tunes and misfortunes of war, he says, 'The king of 
the north shall come to his end, and none shall help 
him.' " 

"Yes, and 'the land of Egypt shall not escape.' 
I suppose you have a place for that country also?" 
Palm's disputant was not going to listen, but quoted 
triumphantly: "The Ethiopian shall be at his steps." 

—"and the Libyians?" 

"Well, I guess they are black like the Ethiopians." 

"Oh you cannot pin me down, Palm." 

So the bickering went between men and men. Oc- 



HYPHENATED 185 

casionally, there was some allusion to hemp neckties 
for obstinate fellows as an appropriate adornment. 

Meanwhile the entire store and general merchandise 
business prospered, and almost anything that Swenson 
touched turned into profit. There was an abundance 
of corn raised on the farm one year with no sale for 
it. 

"It is more than can be stored in any of the build- 
ings on my place/' Swenson confided to Palm. 

"Well, you will have to sell it at a sacrifice/' Palm 
suggested. 

"No, I think not/' Swenson replied. "If I un- 
derstand the economic laws of abundance and short- 
age rightly, it is for us to treasure up in the good 
years the surplus, so that there will be something to 
draw on when the lean years come around." 

So a great circular cellar was dug in the slope of 
the hill where the drainage was good and hundreds 
of bushels of corn w^ere carefully packed away for 
future use. 

The next year, which had an unusually dry season, 
saw corn advance to a dollar per bushel again. 

Swenson 's family increased likewise. Eric, the old- 
est son, was named for his old friend, General Pear- 
son, who, with his wife, later visited them and saw 
his namesake. The second boy was S. Albin, and the 



186 HYPHENATED 

daughters were Greta, named after Margret on Lat- 
tarp, and Nora. (When Greta was two years old 
Swenson had young Holmstrom, who was handy with 
tools, build a playhouse for the little girl. From the 
little house she served tea to such dignitaries as 
ex-Governor Pease, Morgan Hamilton, Judge Morrill 
and other great men. This little house — 10x10 — is 
well preserved yet, and is in possession of a loving 
relative, Mrs. Susanna Palm of Austin. It is related 
that Holmstrom was considered so handy to fix things 
that when Eric stumped his toe he exclaimed, ' l Never 
mind, Holmstrom can fix that all right.' 7 ) When the 
children were large enough to go to school Miss Au- 
gusta Palm was governess for the children. Edla Lar- 
son was a housemaid. A Scotchman by the name of 
Jackson cared for the garden, and Aleck, a negro ser- 
vant, was the "Handy Andy" on the place. 

The immigration from Sweden was slow, and Swen- 
son did not find time to go home on a second visit to 
induce more colonists to move over, but by 1860 one 
hundred and fifty-three persons of Swedish descent 
were living in Texas. (Today they number 11,601 
persons.) 

Swenson often spoke to his foreman, Dan Heard, 
about going home to the Old Country, and in 1857 
Heard departed with his family. 

"I may be able to go over and bring some immi- 



HYPHENATED 187 

grants back with me," he said to Palm, as he de- 
parted, "but to me it looks like a good time to get 
away from the trouble that is sure to come. I wish 
you could move out, also, that would be much better. ' ' 

"Yes, Heard, but this is not the proper time to sell 
out when everybody is afraid to invest. Give my love 
to our home folks." With that Heard went away to 
return after ten years of absence, in 1867. 

In 1859 Houston made his vigorous campaign for 
Governor. It was strenuous work and perhaps the 
only reason the Union principles carried the day was 
the magnetic personality and the convincing speeches 
of the favorite son of Texas. He would often drop in 
on Swenson for a little talk. 

"No thank you," he would say, when offered a 
glass of liquor or a toddy. "I have done away with 
that kind of stuff. I tell you I had a tremendous 
fight to get away from the habit and I thought for 
a while I was a 'goner.' But I have been through 
what you would call a regular conversion, and I de- 
clare no one needed it more than I did. But that is 
where a real good God-fearing woman can work a 
miracle when she is in league with the Almighty. I 
will be proud and glad to introduce you to my wife 
when we move to Austin." 

"How do you like the new mansion and capitol, 
General?" (Swenson was commissioned by Governor 



188 HYPHENATED 

Pease to buy furniture, draperies, rugs, matting, etc., 
for the new Governor's Mansion, when he went on a 
journey to New York in 1854.) 

"Fine, fine. Of course they look a little bit small 
compared to Washington and the State House there, 
but compared to our early administration buildings 
they look fine now." 

"And what is the outlook politically, General ?" 

"Well, Swenson, ever since Lincoln forced Doug- 
las to declare for the ' squatters' sovereignty' it has 
been clear to me that Douglas will lose out in the 
Presidential race two years hence. The South will 
never stand for him. That will give us Lincoln for 
President two years from now. He is for the Union 
first, last, and all the time, and considers that the is- 
sue. If we can preserve the Union we may solve the 
slavery question peacefully. Lincoln is a conserva- 
tive but broad-minded man, and my great object in 
running for Governor is just to keep Texas in the 
Union. As long as we stay in there is hope. And I 
have seen worse conditions cured in my days." 

Then lowering his voice he said, "There might be 
a possibility that the nomination for presidency may 
be tendered me. If that is the case, my great, best 
and only card will be 'the preservation of the Union.' 
But this is a secret between you and me, Swenson." 



HYPHENATED 189 

" Those are my views exactly, Governor, and if I 
can assist you in any way I will be glad to do so. ' ' 

By 1859 a fourth uncle of Swenson, Johannes Palm, 
with several other immigrants arrived, but the elec- 
tion of Lincoln, which the South construed to mean 
that their secession plans would be frustrated, and the 
excitement it created, caused immigration from Swe- 
den to practically cease. 

Swenson and his wife were discussing building 
plans, and the outlook. 

"With everything ready, plans, material, and work- 
men, there seems to be nothing else to do than go 
ahead and start the building," Swenson said. 

1 ' But suppose we have a war, what then ? Would 
it not be better for us to leave everything and go 
back to Tennessee?" 

"That would be about the worst thing we could 
do. If there is going to be a war, it will be fought 
out in the Middle States." 

' ' Do you think Houston and his administration can 
keep Texas in the Union?" 

"They will do their very best, and I will help di- 
rectly or indirectly all I can. If I could only get well 
of my rheumatism everything else would be easier. ' ' 

"Is there no remedy for it?" 



190 HYPHENATED 

"Nothing I know of except the Hot Springs up in 
Arkansas. ' ' 

"Do you think there is any danger for us, staying 
here." 

"No, dear, we have not done anything wrong, and 
things might turn out all right yet." 

So the foundation was laid, and the new residence 
rose steadily, promising and imposing on the hill. 

Houston was duly inaugurated ; Mrs. Houston came 
to Austin, and Swenson and Houston had a private 
conference one day. 

"I hate to have any secrets about my administra- 
tion, ' ' he said to Swenson, ' ' but the fact is this : Lin- 
coln and I are of one mind in regard to the preserva- 
tion of the Union. He has proposed to assist us with 
troops if need be, and it proves practicable. But the 
question is, how to provision them after they get down 
South? There are so many conflicting minds and in- 
fluences at work it would never do to have an open 
bid for contract. Do you think we could handle it 
on the quiet, without any ado about it?" 

"How much would be needed, General?" 

Houston enumerated the quantities needed for a 
regiment during twelve months. 

Swenson stroked his chin and calculated. "I will 
have to take stock and see what can be secured in 



HYPHENATED 191 

the open market before I can give a definite answer, ' ' 
he said at length. 

' ' Very well ; when can I get a definite answer ? ' ' 

"About this time next week." 

"All right. But say, Swenson, I want to meet 
Palm, Morgan Hamilton, Pease, Sam Harris, Judge 
Duval, the Hancocks, and a few others, at the same 
time — you included — for a little confidential talk. Can 
we meet upstairs over your store then? And you 
will be sure to have no undependable person around 
there." 

"111 see to it, General." 

"One thing more, Swenson, if I procure for you a 
colonelship, will you accept it and use it w^hen 
needed ? " 

"If it will help to preserve the Union, I will. ' ' 

# ^ ^ # ^ # ^ 

The clerks w^ere dismissed earlier than usual the 
appointed night a week after. The back doors to the 
warehouse and between the hotel and the store were 
closed. A couple of trusty servants were summoned 
from home to do duty under instructions ; the shades 
were pulled, and only a dim candle burned in the 
little room upstairs where Swenson had his private 
office. One by one they came with ten or fifteen min- 
utes between each. Some dressed as Mexicans, others 
wrapped in a blanket, Swente Palm acting as door- 



192 HYPHENATED 

keeper and August, the nephew, bustling about with 
some unfinished work. 

"Where is Houston/' was whispered time and 
again? "Is he backing out? Why don't he come?" 

August came in with a note. It proved to be from 
Houston. He was detained from attending. The 
colonelship for Swenson was enclosed: "Judge Mor- 
ril will preside, and a note safely dispatched tomor- 
row with estimate, and cost of eventual provision and 
equipment will be all that is needed. Other plans 
and agreements will be communicated to me by spe- 
cial arrangement. Utmost secrecy necessary. We 
are watched. Preliminary steps are taken already to 
call a convention for deciding to join the Confed- 
eracy. Let's stick together — else we will hang sep- 
arately," etc. 

The full report of that night's meeting will never 
be known, but it was patriotic, honest men who 
wanted to do their level best to preserve the Union, 
in the hope that the slavery question could be solved 
in a peaceable way. 

Let those who condemn Houston and his associates 
for this secret conference, remember that President 
Buchanan submitted his public admission "that the 
Constitution was silent on the secession question," 
after his message had been read and approved by 
Jefferson Davis and other leading secessionists. 



HYPHENATED 193 

Surely one faction had very small right to condemn 
the other for using questionable measures. 

Memorable is the speech that Houston delivered 
before he was deposed : i * You may, after the sacrifice 
of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of 
thousands of precious lives, as a bare possibility, win 
Southern independence, if God be not against you; 
but I doubt it. I tell you that while I believe, with 
you, in the doctrine of State rights, the North is deter- 
mined to preserve the Union. ' ' And again : "I love 
Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon 
her. To avert this calamity I shall make no endeavor 
to maintain my authority as chief executive of the 
State, except by peaceful exercise of my functions. 
I protest in the name of the people of Texas against 
all acts and doings of this convention, and declare 
them null and void." 

' 'They say Governor Houston is going to his office 
just the same after he is deposed as before," Palm 
observed to Swenson one day. 

' 'Yes, but yesterday Clark was there earlier than 
usual and took the old man's chair." 

"He did. Well didn't 'Old Sam' make a row 
about it. ' ' 

"No. He will go down in history, dignified, a 
pathetical figure, and be worshipped some day. He 
just said, 'You are out early, Governor/ and the 



194 HYPHENATED 

other had the grace to answer: 'It is the early bird 
that catches the worm.' " 

" 'Well, Governor Clark, I hope you will find it an 
easier seat than I have found it/ Houston said, and 
turning in the door he said: 'Good day, Governor 
C-1-a-r-k.' " 

"Well, Swenson," said Palm, "don't you think 
we are playing a dangerous game? I tell you no 
matter if we are ever so much citizens of Texas, if 
they are going to retaliate or statuate a punishment, 
or if the Union element is going to drop any one, or 
sacrifice any one in order to save themselves, don't you 
think it is likely it will hit a couple of defenseless 
foreigners first? Here is Texas, the seventh to join 
the Confederacy. What if we are looked on as rebels ? 
My wif e is so scared she can not sleep at night. And 
suppose a mob would rob the store ? ' ' 

"Oh, I hope we have not come to that yet, Palm. 
We have done nothing so far but what the secession 
element have done themselves — political jobbery, that 
is all. We have as much right to our political views 
as our opponents. Besides, as long as Pease, Houston, 
Duval and others are not molested, we are not likely 
to be harrassed. But I am not going to replenish the 
stock unless I get that contract, and if you miss any 
money in the safe, you will know that it is put in safe- 
keeping somewhere, and that Shepherd in Houston has 



HYPHENATED 195 

the clue to the situation. If it becomes serious, we 
will have to close the store and wait for better times. ' ' 

Then followed the Fort Sumter tragedy. The 
South was electrified. 

""What do you think they will do to me, Mr. Swen- 
son?" August Palm inquired one day. "They are 
talking about enlisting men, and they seem to take it 
for granted the young men ought to go first.' ' 

"But I need you here to go with the teamsters 
hauling goods. * 

"I know, Swenson, but what shall I do?" 

' ' Can you not marry, August, and be a settled man ? 
You have that nice little home where General Sidney 
Johnston has lived for nearly four years. Can't you 
marry and move in and be a settled citizen ? ' ' 

So August married Miss Adele Atwood, a beautiful 
Austin belle in those days. But in a few months there 
were troubles again. 

"Governor Lubbock says a young man like me 
should be out doing duty/' he confided one day. 

"Well, wait till they draft you for the army. If 
you go with the volunteers they will send you to the 
front. If you are drafted in you may be retained in 
your home State, and have a chance to see your family 
occasionally." 

And in a few months August was drafted for duty 



196 HYPHENATED 

in his home State, and detailed with some more of 
his country-folks to forage for the army. 

"Well, stick to your job faithfully, August, and 
keep your mouth shut. Come and see me when you 
have a furlough. Then you will come out all right. I 
guess, with Berryman, Holstrom, Bergstrom and 
others drafted, or going to be drafted, I will have to 
close the store soon." 

Houston was getting ready to return to his home 
in Huntsville, and came to say good-bye to Swenson. 

1 * All hope is not gone yet, Swenson, ' ' he said. ' ' But 
I cannot communicate with anybody. My mail is 
tampered with continually! Same way with yours. 
The only way to get a communication under way 
would be if anyone could travel up North." 

"Well, who should that be, General?" 

"Haven't you and Sam Harris rheumatism con- 
tinually, and couldn't you go up to Hot Springs, Ar- 
kansas? Wouldn't that be perfectly legitimate?" 

"And take a letter from you and be searched and 
hung?" 

"Letter nothing! Couldn't you scratch a few lines 
up there and manage a communication some way?" 

"Well, perhaps so, General." And Houston de- 
parted. 



HYPHENATED 197 

The following letter was written in the last year of 
General Houston's life: 

" Cedar Point, August 14th, 1862. 
"Private. 
"My dear Colonel: 

"I was delighted to hear of your safe return to 
Texas. You well deserve the honor of your scars. 
We were all happy to know your wounds were not 
mortal. May you long enjoy your honors in evidence 
of your country's gratitude. 

"You could come down to the vicinity of Houston, 
but not extend your visit to the fish country, though 
I suppose there was a ^ little angling' where you were. 
And hearing of your trips I was so much excited as 
to why you did not come to us that I could not sup- 
press the following impromptu: 

1 ' How sweet the nectar on the lip. 
The honey bee would fondly sip. 
How sweet that dear enchanting smile, 
That all the warrior's care beguiles. 
Of these proud trophies earned in wars 
Rich recompense of soldier's scars. 
Who would not meet a hostile band 
In hopes such treasures to command? 
"So my dear Colonel, my muse was not asleep. I 
presume your trip was a pleasant one. I dare not ask, 
what was the result of it, but if I were ' Paul Pry, ' I 



198 HYPHENATED 

should be very curious to know something about it. 
Of course, you know we would all be very glad to 
hear from you, as we regard you as one of our fam- 
ily. We would be delighted if you could visit us, 
and will try to give you some of the best oysters and 
fish in the bay. We live poorly, but we will try to 
idress our diet with a hearty welcome. Can't you 
come and see us? 

"We will try to live quietly. I never leave my 
place without urgent business, and return the first 
moment I can command. Yet, I learn the Provost 
Marshals are especial in their inquisitions about mat- 
ters that may transpire at my house or what the 
children may say, and their prattling. This gives 
me very little disquiet. I am at all times ready to 
answer for what my family do or say. Today, I 
have started an inquiry into some things I have heard. 
You may hear more of it by and by. 

"It is not sufficient that we have given our sons 
and means to defend and support Southern Inde- 
pendence. The reason which I gave against Secession, 
and the prediction which I made, are still brought 
up in the minds of my enemies, and they cannot 
believe in my support of the cause, which is one 
now of life and death to us all. I may exclaim with 
Elijah: 'Lord, they have broken down thine altars, 
they have slain thy prophets, I alone am left and 



HYPHENATED 199 

they seek my life. ' So it was in a perverse generation, 
and the human is the same now as it was then. 

"If it were the will of my Heavenly Father, that 
I should enjoy a tranquil eventide of life, I would 
be thankful, but His will be done. I will request Mr. 
Harrell, who takes this letter to Austin, as we have 
no mails, to call on you, and deliver it with some 
little request. He is on business for the soldiers 
and if you can help him in forwarding it, please do 
so. He is sent by a meeting to obtain cloth at the 
penitentiary by the Governor. The order is to make 
cloth for the 'Bay Land Guards Company' from this 
neighborhood. They are nearly naked and destitute, 
having lost all at the battle of Shiloh, where we also 
lost our son, though we hope to reclaim him some 
day. 

1 ' All send love to you. Salute all our friends. 
"Thy ever devoted, 

" Houston/ ' 

Mrs. Swenson did not go out very much and the dis- 
turbed state of affairs worried her. It was there- 
fore with great pleasure that Swenson brought his 
family over to Swente Palm's residence, one day for 
dinner, and to "spend the day" with the cultured 
Mrs. Palm and her sister, Miss Laura, The Palms 



200 HYPHENATED 

were childless, their only son, Swente Sture, having 
died at an early age. 

A rainstorm coming up in the evening prevented 
the family from returning at the accustomed time. 
Swenson, contrary to his habit of wanting his family 
at home and around him at nightfall, seemed inclined 
to urge them to stay overnight in the city. He went 
home alone, and said he would send the carriage back 
in the morning. 

" Funny, " wondered Mrs. Swenson, "why Swenson 
is so particular about going home alone. ' ' 

1 ' Oh, he might have some letters or accounts to at- 
tend to, and wanted to have quiet around him." 

"Well, could he not have done that in his private 
office upstairs here in town," Mrs. Swenson wondered. 

"I have noticed," answered Palm, "that Swenson 
doesn't like to leave town alone after it is dark, and 
he may think some one ought to be at home during the 
night. It will do you good to be out a little now and 
then, Mrs. Swenson. I wouldn't worry." 

Meanwhile Swenson disposed of a good sized bun- 
dle on coming home and dispatched Aleck for a grub- 
bing hoe and a shovel. 

"Put them here on the porch, Aleck." 

"Gonna hab a fishin' party, Marse Swenson?" 

' k Yes, you can dig some bait in the morning, Aleck. 



HYPHENATED 201 

But I want a long pole. One that will reach as high 
as the housetop. " 

' ' Lawd amassy, gwine to set trotlines ? ' ' 

" Maybe so." 

And Aleck returned about dusk with a nearly 
straight sapling ten feet long. 

"That will do. Leave it on the porch. Is Augusta 
with her folks ?" 

"Yas, sir." 

' ' That will do, now you may go. ' ' 

Swenson sat down and tried to read. Over from 
the little home of Gustav Palm, came merry voices, 
singing, laughing and having fun. "What a blessing 
it is, he thought, to be a happy, carefree child — so 
different from the heavy yoke that is put on in man- 
hood. What a strife, hustle and bustle, distrust and 
stratagetism is crowded into a man's life. He felt 
weary, and listless, soul and body sick. It hurt him 
to sit still, and the aching joints, especially his knees, 
hurt him when he moved around. Did not the peas- 
ants in the Old Country lead a better, healthier, more 
care-free life? To be sure they did. But, he would 
hate for all that, to be chained to that monotoneous, 
heavy grinding work they had lived through, genera- 
tion after generation. 

He dozed in his chair and dreamed of a big mer- 
cantile etsablishment somewhere, where everybody was 



202 HYPHENATED 

pleasant and honest. Where the goods rolled in from 
ships on one side, and rolled out to customers on the 
other side, and August was pumping a huge pump, 
from which twenty dollar gold piece flowed in one 
continuous stream, and he was digging holes in the 
ground to hide them in. 

He woke with a start. The candle was out. It was 
dark. Over in Palm's cabin all was still. The clock 
in the dining room struck twelve. He struck a 
match and lighted a new candle, pulled down the 
shades at the windows, and went out for the hoe and 
spade. It was a starlight night, the air was moist and 
his joints ached worse than ever. 

6 i Never mind, old man, ' ' he grunted to himself, ' ' it 
has to be done." 

He pried loose the bricks in the fire place, and 
picked them out one by one. Then he started to dig 
a hole underneath. It was rather soft and not as 
hard as he imagined it to be. He dug until he 
thought it deep enough, then he deposited one of the 
heavy tin boxes in the hole. He looked into the box 
to see that everything was all right. That the slip 
on which was written, $10,000 by actual count, " was 
laid on top. Then he covered the box with a piece 
of ducking and put the dirt back. He tamped and 
tried to get the dirt back again, but had a considerable 
heap of it left. 



HYPHENATED 203 

"Well, I will have to dispose of that so it will not 
create any suspicion," he muttered. "Now for the 
other fireplace." And after the same procedure, the 
second box was deposited. He swept and cleaned up 
the dirt and threw it at one end of the house where 
a dried-up flower bed had been. Then he dug with 
the hoe so as to make it appear he had been digging 
for worms, and mixed the different dirt together. 
Next he washed with a bucket of water the fireplace, 
the walls and the bricks where he had worked, and last, 
he went outside and prodded the shingles next to 
the chimneys. 

"That will give the appearance of rain doing this 
mischief, and in the morning, I will call in the Dutch 
mason and explain to him what I want him to do. 
It is better the family goes fishing tomorrow like 
Aleck planned." 

So in the morning, after a few hours fitful sleep, he 
called up Aleck, and told him to hustle for some worms 
for bait. 

"You start to dig for them out there," he said, 
pointing to his previous work. "I am tired of dig- 
ging. ' ? 

Aleck started with a frown on his face. 

"Marse Swenson," he was soon calling. "I can't 
find nary a worm thar." 

"Can't you?" 



204 HYPHENATED 

"Naw, sor. I got tu go down tu de creek an dig 
'em." 

"Well, go on then." 

He ordered the carriage and a big wagon for the 
children and provisions, invited the Palm family with 
Augusta to go along to help take care of them, wrote a 
note to tell his wife how the water had mussed up 
things at home and how he intended to have the 
mason to come over and fix up a little. They had 
better be out of the way. At dinner or later in the 
evening, he would join them at the river. 

' 'Well, I think I remember the fireplaces leaked a 
little," remarked Mrs. Swenson, "but what had the 
stone mason to do with that? Old Jackson can fix 
that in a little while." 

And Old Jackson was detailed by Swenson to fix 
it, while the mason was instructed to fix the bricks 
in the fireplace. 

" Seems to me, Mr. Swenson, like somebody been 
fooling with these shingles. Looks to me like some- 
body been knocking them lose from beneath." 

"Well, maybe the boys have been throwing rocks at 
them." 

"Wall, mcbe, mebe so." 

Ernest, the mason, looked critically at the ceiling 
and at the wet bricks. 

"These bricks have been laid loose on top of the 



HYPHENATED 205 

dirt," Swenson explained, "and the children will 
pick them up and play with them. I want you to 
bring good strong mortar and set them in so they 
won 't come loose again. It is the same with the other 
fireplace. See that you make a good job of it right 
away, Ernest." 

"Yaas, sorr, I vill make dem stay ven I ged done 
vid dem, Mester Swenson. ' ' 

And Ernest made a "goot yob" of it as later wit- 
nesses can testify. 

Swenson cleaned and wiped away the last stain of 
that ruinous rain. Jackson declared that "no 
muckle" rain was ever going to find its way through 
the patches he had made, and Swenson was satisfied 
that he had made a safe deposit of his funds for the 
time being. 

jt. je. Jt, j p j k. jt. Jb 

There were at least two in the party that went to 
Hot Springs, Arkansas, but they did not stay very 
long. They tried their best to establish a communica- 
tion with Washington, and failed. In less than three 
weeks, they were back again, watched and distrusted 
more than ever. 

Ex-G-overnor Pease was allowed to go on the streets 
unmolested, but cut off from all activity in public 
life. Gruesome stories would sometimes be told about 



206 HYPHENATED 

lynchings or skulls knocked in by zealous secession- 
ists in their endeavor to enlist men for the army. 

One night when Swenson was returning home later 
than usual, he noticed some riders following him in 
the outskirts of town. He gave his big gray racer the 
full use of his liberty, and the buggy and animal 
came homeward at top speed. In a furious gallop 
they tried to overtake him, calculating that they could 
rope him at the gate, but the calculating mind of 
Swenson had long before ordered Magnus to be at 
the gate and have it open as soon as the twilight fell. 
Perhaps it was the rheumatism that prompted this 
ordinance — the fact is the gate was open — Swenson 
went through like lightning. Old Magnus slammed 
the gate in place, and some fast riders came suddenly 
to a dead stop. 

1 ' That is the way a good, faithful servant can save 
his master from a whole lot of trouble,' ' Swenson 
complimented him. "But we will say nothing to 
Mrs. Swenson. It will do no good and it will make us 
all uncomfortable to talk about it." 

The only one that Swenson confided the attack to, 
was Palm. 

' ' I think, ' ' he said, ' ' it will be best for me to leave 
for Mexico for awhile. But it must be on account of my 
rheumatism, and you must let that be the sole reason 
for my departure. We will let the store stay closed, 



HYPHENATED 207 

and you can have all the time you want to devote to 
your books. Have you heard anything in regard to 
your Consulship? It would be a good thing to have 
it established. It would be a kind of protection for 
not only our countrymen, but also for yourself/' 

"No, I have not heard anything as yet. But if I 
am going to take charge of the business, you will 
have to appoint me agent for your interest also." 

"All right, I will do that." 

' ' I thought I would never mention it to you, Swen- 
son, but I happened to overhear some conversation 
the other night that made me feel uncomfortable. 
Two officers going by me inj the dark, one remarked : 

" ' Senator Iverson advises some Brutus to assassi- 
nate Houston. It would be a relief to get rid of him, ' 
and the other said: 'If they would assassinate that 
d — d Swenson at the same time, they would do us 
a double service/ " 

"Who were they?" 

"I am not sure that one of them was not Colonel 
S ." 

"Well, he is a bitter enemy of mine anyway," Swen- 
son said. "I think it is best for me to go. I'm tired 
of going to that drill, and be taught right and left 
like a raw recruit. And the worst of it all is, the 
humilating treatment one receives. Sam Harris says 
he is going along with us to the hot springs in 



208 HYPHENATED 

Monterey, Mexico. But he has some ^business to 
attend to in San Antonio first. I will go over and see 
our folks on Brushy creek before I go." 

"Well, do," urged Palm. "See if you cannot get 
the Munson ' s to move over here ; that would be some 
reliable help at least. ' ' 

' ' In the meanwhile, Palm, remember, Shepherd has 
all the documents. They will explain how and where 
funds are invested. Let the renters put in plenty of 
corn and feedstuff, so no one need go hungry. The 
rents from the hotel and other property, will cover 
running expenses. Tou have been my true friend, 
Palm. God bless you for it. ' ' 

Then he burst into tears and sobbed: "If I only 
knew of a safe place for Sue and the children, I 
would gladly sacrifice all I have in this paltry town. 
But I don't know of a more secluded, out-of-the-way 
place than Go Valle. I cannot see that she and the 
children have anything to fear. But remember, Palm : 
My wife must always think that I went for my 
rheumatism, as well as everybody else. 

So Swenson rode out to Brushy creek to see his folks. 
They had done well during their stay there, and 
"Aunt Anna" would have been perfectly satisfied 
but for the war and that her boys were taken for the 
army service. 

"It seems like, Swenson," the poor woman sobbed, 




S. ALBIN SWENSON 



HYPHENATED 209 

"that as soon as you get a little bit settled and get 
things in shape, then comes some more trouble on top 
of it. Here are the Munsons and Larson and Chris- 
tiansons and Nelsons and others all drafted for the 
army, and the women almost crazy. They came and 
took Johannes Munson in the field from his work, and 
Johanna, his wife, came running after him with one 
child in her arms and one running beside, holding to 
her skirt. Next day we had to pick up the bloody 
form of two of our neighbors with heads crushed to 
pulp, and bury them the best we could. I tell you, 
Swen, it makes me sick. This is a terrible country. 
I wish to God I had never come here. ' ' 

"Well, Aunt Anna," Swenson tried to console her, 
"I have tried to do all I can, but these things are be- 
yond my control. I might have to get out of the 
country myself in order to be out of harm's way. 
We all have our troubles ,to bear and God knows my 
own don't seem to be the lightest. But we will all 
try to tide over. Better times are coming again. And 
my firm conviction is that the North will win, but 
you must not say it so that anybody can hear you. 
Let us try to have patience and trust in God. ' ' 

"Well, if we only could have a minister and preach- 
ing like we had in the Old Country, ' ' the sad woman 
replied, "then it would not be so hard, but here we 
are like sheep without a shepherd." 



210 HYPHENATED 

"I know, I know, Auntie, but as true as God liveth, 
if times had beerj otherwise, our people would have 
numbered hundreds in these parts, and we would have 
had some preaching in our native tongue, but I re- 
peat it: I cannot help it, Auntie." 

So he went and visited Annie, his sister, and her 
husband before returning. Dyer was vehement in his 
denunciations of the northern tyranny and the block- 
ade, and thought if only England and France would 
recognize the Southern Confederacy, the tide could 
be turned yet. 

"Well, Dyer," Swenson said, "we will not argue 
that point now. I may never see you nor Annie 
again, but if that is the case, these four hundred 
acres are yours and your children after you. The 
papers and deeds will show it." And with an af- 
fectionate good-bye and a heavy heart, he went home 
again to Austin. 

There were quite a few tears and many fond em- 
braces, many a "remember dear" and "don't forget" 
to the little ones, the morning w T hen the ambulance 
with two good, swift and strong mules were standing 
at the Swenson home in Go Valle. Judge Morrill, 
Sam Harris, and Morgan Hamilton, (brother of 
Jack Hamilton, who was a commissioned officer in 



HYPHENATED 211 

the Federal army with a price set on his head), were 
sitting out in the vehicle waiting for him. A grip 
for each of the gentlemen and some provisions tucked 
in, completed the baggage brought along. 

There were quite a few remarks exchanged, about 
"rheumatism" and "Hot Springs/' Jackson and 
Aleck had a few instructions and the party were off 
for the long journey to Monterey, Mexico. On the 
porch Mrs. Swenson with the little Nora on her 
arm, was standing, waving her handkerchief as long 
as a similar one could be seen from the ambulance. 
When it passed out of sight, she went in and sat down 
for a good cry. Everything seemed dark and hopeless. 
The October sky was hazy with the Indian summer. 
The trees were shedding their red and yellow tinted 
leaves. The landscape, below towards the river, laid 
in its fall colors so still, almost sugesting that some- 
thing terrible was going to happen, and on the west 
side rose the unfinished building with its doors and 
window frames set in, silhoutted against the sky — 
abandoned. So Swenson 's dream of a magnificient 
home on the hill was frustrated. Would he ever come 
back? She had with her womanly instinct divined 
that there was more than Swenson 's rheumatism be- 
hind this journey, but she had made it a rule never 
to interfere wtih her husband's business. He had 
given her to understand that nothing was left undone, 



212 HYPHENATED 

that would insure their welfare whether he lived or 
died, and some secrecy was almost necessary, in order 
to transact money business in these troublous days. 
So she let him go and come, plan and decide un- 
molested. She knew she was protected, even without 
knowing exactly how or by whom. What more could 
she demand. And she tried to dry the tears and de- 
vote herself to her children. 

The party arrived at Brownsville, minus Sam 
Harris (who had some urgent business calling him 
to San Antonio), one of the first days in November, 
and in less than two weeks Mrs. Swenson had a letter 
from her husband, telling about everything but his 
rheumatism. Well rheumatism is a very changeable 
affliction, often forgotten under great excitement, and 
maybe a change of climate would prove beneficial to 
him. 

But before we submit some of his letters from 
Mexico we must relate an incident that cast additional 
gloom over the home life on the Swenson homestead. 

John, one of Gustav Palm's oldest sons, going on his 
seventeenth year and old enough to be of some help 
to his father, came home one night heart-broken. 
He had brought up his little pony and the rather 
undersized boy avowed and declared his intention of 
going to Mexico also. There were some loud and ex- 



HYPHENATED 213 

citing conversation carried on over in the Palm 
cabin, and Mrs. Swenson wanted to know what was 
up. 

1 ' 1 want my shirts, and that ten dollar coin, that is 
mine," John was saying to his mother — Palm being 
detained in town and not present. 

"But, my dear boy, what has happened?" The 
mother tried to calm him. 

"Oh, they have been talking for several weeks in 
town, that a young man like me is big enough to be 
enlisted in the army," John blubbered like his heart 
was going to break. "It makes me feel so bad, 
mamma, that I can't stand it no longer." 

"For pity's sake, John, you are no bigger than a 
twelve-year old boy. Taking you for a soldier ? You 
must be mistaken, ' ' Mrs. Swenson interrupted. 

' ' No, I am not, ' ' John asserted. ' ' I wouldn 't mind 

so much, but they curse at me, and say, ' That d d 

fellow is big enough to carry a gun and be sent to 
the front.' I am going away from such people." And 
rolling his two shirts into a hard little roll, he tied 
it on to the saddle. 

Mrs. Palm looked on in helpless resignation, while 
the tears dropped fast and hot from her eyes. 

"Good-bye, mother!" he cried and kissed her and 
the other children passionately. 

"Well, John," consoled Mrs. Swenson, "if you 



214 HYPHENATED 

are really going, try to go to Monterey and find Mr. 
Swenson, then you will have, at least, one who you 
will know down there." 

"Poor boy, " she said and turned to the pale mother, 
as he mounted his pony and rode away in the dark- 
ness, "I think he will turn back and come home 
again before morning. " 

But John did not come back. He tried to ford 
the river where there were no guards and came near 
drowning himself and the little pony in the deep 
water. He rode in wet clothes. He made the long 
journey alone and on reaching Mexico was finally 
drafted for Maximilian's army, but he never found 
Swenson. 

But the poor mother wrung her hands like Jacob 
of old, and said: "William is taken out in the war; 
John is lost in the wilderness. Oh, what a terrible 
country to come to. I wish to God we had stayed at 
home." 

(Ed. note: — "John" escaped from the Maximilian's 
army in Mexico and is today afiliated with one of our 
banking institutions in Austin, grayheaded, trusted 
and respected.) 



CHAPTER. XIV 

LETTERS FROM MEXICO. 

Swenson wrote more than a dozen letter to his 
wife, besides many others, during his stay in Mexico. 

"Matamoras, Mexico, Nov. 3, 1863. 
' ' My dear wif e : 

' ' On oui* way hither I have written yon three pencil 
notes, advising you of our progress. On Saturday, 
the 31st, we arrived at Brownsville without any re- 
markable feature contrary to the ordinary travel in 
an almost unsettled country, such as camping, cook- 
ing, standing guard at nights, etc. As we neared 
the Rio Grande we met quite a number of trains of 
Government stores, carriages, etc. All advised us to 
make Brownsville that night, as it w r as deemed un- 
safe to camp out, and because one of Col. Duff's 
companies, commanded by a Capt. Vidal, had 
mutinied, killed one of the Colonel's express men and 
wounded another, and subsequently murdered seven 
other persons. It is currently believed that Capt. 
Vidal intended to take and burn Brownsville, conse- 
quently the excitement had been and was very intense. 



216 HYPHENATED 

AVe made no permanent stay at Brownsville, as Col. 
Duff very 7 kindly gave me and Mr. Morrill a permit to 
cross the river with our mules and ambulance. Mr. 
Brush obtained a similar permit from another officer, 
and in company with him, we crossed the river in time 
to obtain lodging at ' Hotel de Matamoras. ' I am also 
under great obligations to Col. Latham for marked 
courtesy and assistance. We arrived in Brownsville 
at a very propitious time, as just previous to our ar- 
rival the Government officers had impressed all the 
teams in, and about the town, and on yesterday, for 
reasons which I will tell presently, similar impress- 
ments were rigorously enforced. 

"I find Matamoras a very much larger town than 
I had expected, ordinarily containing, I am told, 
about 12,000 inhabitants; but now evidently about 
half as many more. The place is semi-Spanish, semi- 
American in appearance ; it is very dusty, very busy 
and very lively. The population now seems to be a 
jumble of all countries and languages. The great- 
est number are Americans and renegade Texans. Of 
Texans not so situated, I have heard it estimated as 
high as 3,000, but I suppose that this must be an 
exaggeration. But everywhere I hear English spoken, 
and I have been saluted as an acquaintance, by at 
least 200 people, most of whom I do not know ; but 
all seem to be very well informed as to who I am 



HYPHENATED 217 

— saying that I ought to know them, etc. Mr. Alex- 
ander was here recently from New York, and quite 
a number from Austin and its vicinity, and daily new 
arrivals are to be seen, chiefly mechanics and persons 
averse to military exercise. On yesterday and today, 

I have seen the heroic S of Austin, dressed up as 

a civilian; but I presume that he is a Confederate 
soldier when he is on the other side. Mr. Swisher 
and Johnny remained at Brownsville, and I have not 
seen them since Saturday. 

"On Sunday, Mr. M and self attended high 

mass in the cathedral, and in the evening we were 
attracted by music ; and, prompted by some Austin 
friends, we walked in the direction of the music, where 
we found a 'Fan-dango' in full operation out-of-doors 
in a public square. We gazed at this novel sight of 
thousands of dancers, with Mexicans and Americans 
looking on for an hour. We were impressed with 
the great decorum of it all, and the apparent enjoy- 
ment of all the participants. The higher classes do 
not take part in the dances; they only look on, and 
promenade around the immense arena of joyous and 
polite people of low^ degree. Not a harsh word was 
heard, not a drunken person seen ; and no want of the 
most rigid propriety (as a dancing party). As to 
the propriety of Sunday evening being thus spent, 
needs no comment. 



218 HYPHENATED 

"Yesterday being a feast day, all business should 
have been suspended and all stores and shops were 
actually shut, but by breakfast time, the whole town 
was thrown into an intense excitement, particularly 
among the Americans, on acount of a report that 
from 13 to 16 U. S. vessels had arrived at Point Isabel, 
about 25 miles from Brownsville. As the day ad- 
vanced, the reports became more frequent, confirming 
and enlarging on this previous statement until late 
last night, when it was stated that about 5,000 U. S. 
troops had landed during the day; and all day the 
utmost hurry and confusion and excitement prevailed, 
owing to the evacuation of almost everything movable 
in Brownsville. This is still going on. Yesterday 
afternoon I went to the river opposite Brownsville, 
and remained there for four hours reviewing the 
hustle and confusion attendant upon the evacuation 
of the town. In Brownsville, I could see the effects 
of precipitate haste ; and two ferry boats and three 
skiffs continually transporting cotton and merchan- 
dise across the river, carrying it across in every 
shape, some in open boxes, some in barrels, in sheets, 
and some as loose funiture. Women and children, 
cradles, clocks, crockery, provisions, cooking utensils, 
all in a jumble. Only the men and teams were de- 
tained (except Jews, whom I suppose are either not 
considered as men, or are endowed with superior 



HYPHENATED 219 

privileges and immunities) . I understand that similar 
movements kept up during the night, and even this 
morning. A stream of non-combatants and their 
movables were still pouring into this hospitable city. 
God only knows where they will all find shelter. The 
room (a very small one) which we occupied at the 
hotel, was taken by three grown ladies, and I don't 
know how many babies, small dogs, trunks, band- 
boxes, carpet bags, etc. But I know that the room 
is very small, very uncomfortable and not large enough 
for two men with their ordinary baggage. 

" Today it is reported that the landing of Federals 
at Point Isabel is still progressing; that Gen. Bee 
(Confed) has left Brownsville, and that the two can- 
nons have been sunk in the river, that no opposition 
w T ill be made to Federal possession of Brownsville, etc., 
but rumors are very erratic, and I do not know 
whether to credit them or not. There is no doubt, 
however, that the Confederate force in Brownsville 
is much too small to effect a new obstruction to the 
military occupation of the U. S. forces, and as I have 
no opportunity to send this letter now, I may add 
something more respecting the result. 

"Mr. Buas has established himself at the mouth of 
the river on this side. He came up last night, con- 
firming the arrival of the fleet ; and we intend to visit 
the mouth of the river for the purpose of sea bathing, 



220 HYPHENATED 

eating oysters, etc., and next week to resume our jour- 
ney to Monterey for the benefit of the springs in that 
vicinity. My health has been excellent until last night 
when I was attacked by a very severe spell of colic 
which made me very sick for a few hours; but I feel 
quite well now, except the weakness which follows 
such paroxysms. There is no very late news from the 
U. S. Rosecrantz is represented to be at Chattanooga, 
heavily reinforced by Burnside and Sheridan. The 
battle is represented to have been very severe, the 
Federals losing in prisoners and the Confederates in 
killed and wounded. The latter are said to have lost 
12,000 men, the former about an equal number in- 
cluding prisoners. 

"Brig. Gen. A. J. Hamilton with his staff, is an- 
nounced as having arrived at New Orleans on the 14th 
of October; and it is said here that he is the U. S. 
military governor of Texas and in great favor with 
the administration. He is reported as very temperate 
in his habits, sober-minded, and practical in his views. 
This much I overheard in conversation with a gentle- 
man who has been with him very much of late; but 
in making statements of what I hear,* I always bear 
in mind that the speaker is not able to stand re- 



*The rumor was true, although Gen. Hamilton was not 
inaugurated as Provisional Governor until 1865, or over 
19 months afterward. 



HYPHENATED 221 

sponsible for his utterances. All reports agree that 
Texas is to be invaded this winter, and that large 
armies are now moving on Texas. 

"Mr. F is here; he is very polite. We have 

an invitation to his house. Mr. Freeman is also 
here. Tell Sam Harris our quondam acquaintance, 
Capt. M , is here, wearing the identical uni- 
form which glittered at the 'Springs/ but is some- 
what the worse for wear. I wish Harris was with us ; 
tell him that the springs of Monterey are said 
to be excellent for rheumatism, and the distance 
from San Antonio is not very great, and I am told 
that the route is perfectly safe. I wash that I had 
taken that route, though it is not very much shorter, 
but evidently equally as safe as via this city. 

■ ' Dear wife, I intended to have written more before 
sending you this letter, but as I find an opportunity 
to send it by Mr. De Navarro of San Antonio, I will 
only add my love to you, the children and all. Tell 
the children to be good and may God in his mercy 
protect you and me. I shall write again before leav- 
ing Matamoras, but it is doubtful whether I can get 
any conveyance after today. 

"Farewell, my dear, dear wife. 

"Yours affectionately, 

"S. M. SWENSON." 

"P. S. Owing to the general breaking up and the 



222 HYPHENATED 

turning back of teams now on the roads and the gen- 
eral impressment of all conveyances on the other side, 
I have no hopes of being able to send you any of the 
things that you want, nor anything to any of your 
friends. "S. M." 

After writing a letter of one thousand or fifteen 
hundred words in length Swenson often closed the 
letters to his family with the desire to write "more." 
For the sake of not wearying the reader, we will just 
take extracts from two or three letters. In a letter 
dated Monterey, Dec. 11th, 1863, he says, among other 
things : 

' * I have received a letter from Mr. Aquierre, whom 
you may remember was once at our house in com- 
pany with Mr. Alexander and two Mexican gentlemen. 
He very kindly invited me to his house in Saltillo, 
and he insists that I shall not only come, but also let 
him know beforehand, that he might meet me upon 
my arrival. He says that if the weather is too cold 
for me in Saltillo, he will take me to an haciendo be- 
longing to his family near Parras, where, he says, I 
shall be equally welcome; or if I like it, he will ac- 
company me to San Luis Potosi, where he has to go 
about the 1st of January. He has written to Gov- 
ernor Vidauri, and other gentlemen in my behalf; 
and I have in that way been overwhelmed with court- 



HYPHENATED 223 

esy for his sake. Among the gentlemen, who have 
called on me today was the Secretary of State, who 
told me that Mr. Aquierre was of one of the first 
families in Mexico. (Mexico, like Virginia, has its 
first families.) I regret that I have done so little to 
merit the attention of these men, although I feel 
grateful for their courtesy ; but I sincerely hope that 
it may not be too late to reform in this respect. 

1 ' Yesterday evening I took tea with Mr. U. formerly 
of San Antonio. And I have seldom met a more 
agreeable couple than he and his wife. His father- 
in-law was also there. I suspect that they are refugees, 
but they are too considerate to express any harsh 
feeling or discontent with their former neighbors, al- 
though I was told today that the old gentleman was 
only allowed twenty-four hours to prepare for his 
departure." 

From Parras, dated January 11th, 1864, we quote 
the following: 

' ' About two weeks ago, I received an invitation to 
visit the hacienda of San Rosario, which belongs to 
the family of Senor Aquierre; and as Don Eugenio 
also intended to visit this pateriial estate, I cheerfully 
accepted the invitation. This estate joins the city 
of Parras, and I dated this letter from Parras; but 
I am on the hacienda 'San Rosario.' Today a week 
ago, we set out from Saltillo in an ambulance ac- 



224 HYPHENATED 

companied by ten servants and a drove of mules for 
change. In order to give you an idea of the move- 
ment of a Mexican ' Grandee, ' I will somewhat minute- 
ly describe the journey without any pretentions what- 
ever to describe the magnificent mountains and the 
scenery, or the rich plains, such as the battle fields of 
Buena Vista (where Gen. Taylor with 4,759 men, met 
and defeated Santa Anna's army of 20,000 in 1847), 
and Angosture, or the ranches along the road. 

' 'Well, as to our royal mode of traveling — we 
breakfasted at 12 o'clock in Saltillo before we start- 
ed, and then traveled at the utmost speed, in com- 
pany as stated, until sundown. A courier was sent 
ahead at full speed, while we traveled a little more 
leisurely, to advise the Major Domo of the hacienda 
of our approach, and to ask the favor of staying 
over night. 

"We were sumptuously entertained and well lodg- 
ed ; and the next morning after taking coffee, we con- 
tinued our travel in the 'Gilpin' race style until about 
11 o'clock, when another courier was dispatched to 
the rancho 'Sequiem,' asking the favor of its pro- 
prietor, Senor Pena, to provide us with breakfast, 
which this fat and jolly and very dark caballero did 
in a most sumptuous way, insisting that I should 
occupy the seat of honor at the table, while he, Senor 
Pena, busied himself in supervising the rapid serving 



HYPHENATED 225 

of a multitude of dishes, to all of which we were well 
prepared to do full justice, as well as to the wine, 
which is most lavishly used here in every house. 

"After breakfast we embraced our good-natured 
and hospitable host, and mounted the carriage for a 
continuation of our journey. 

"At two o'clock we were met by fifteen mounted 
and armed servants of the hacienda who had await- 
ed our arrival on the line of their immense posses- 
sions, which are more than 100 square leagues. With 
this additional force we qontinued ten or twelve 
leagues when we were again met by two carriages 
containing the following: the brother of the Senors 
Don Eugenio, namely, the Don Pedro Aquierre, Sen- 
ors Santas, Pena and some other gentleman mounted 
on horseback. Here we all got out of the ambulance 
for the ceremony of introduction, embracing, etc. In 
the foremost, Mr. Aquierre was seated together with 
the dignified and aged Senor Pena (who is a brother 
of the gentleman at whose house we breakfasted). I 
forgot to state that we had the company from Sal- 
tillo of Don Narcisso Aquierre and Senor Zepa — rela- 
tives of Don Eugenio. After continuing the journey 
for another league or two, we reached this magnificient 
Hacienda. Don Eugenio and myself are lodged at the 
house of Senor Santas, but the whole family congre- 
gates here at meal time. 



226 HYPHENATED 

"I would like to describe the further reception by 
the ladies as well as the magnificient estate with its 
immense fields, its numerous herds, its square miles 
of vineyards, cotton factory and mills ; its abundance 
of water tanks, waterfalls, extensive plantation, shade 
trees, gardens, shrubbery, etc., but I will tell you 
presently why I have not time to write a very long 
letter. * 

"In the vicinity there lives a very rich man whose 
name is Don Leonardo Zuluaga. His possessions are 
so immense that even the numbers of his ranches and 
haciendas are not known here. He is said to possess 
between five hundred and one thousand leagues of 
land. This gentleman has been in great trouble on 
account of his neighbors settling on the confines of his 
lands, having confederated together in the number of 
two or three thousand ; they have robbed him of 40,000 
head of his stock, burned some of his ranches and de- 
stroyed many thousands of bushels of grain. And 
to check these depradations, the government has sent 
as army of 1000 men. These rancheros who have 
turned into robbers had obtained through mis- 
take a grant from the government of land which 
proved to run over a portion of Mr. Zuluaga 's estate, 
thus giving them a show of title and some excuse for 



*The letter contained 1600 words. 



HYPHENATED 227 

their bad deeds; and in the revolutionary condition 
of this country, the government cannot afford to keep 
an army here for the protection of Mr. Zuluaga. It 
is therefore very desirable to pacify these rancheros 
and end the war. To effect such a happy result, Don 
Zuluaga was importuned by all parties as well as by 
the government to go to the frontier of this state 
(Coahuilla) and treat with these robbers; and after 
promising to go, I was invited to become one of the 
party. I was very glad to accept, as it gave me an 
opportunity to see more of the country, as well as to 
be witness to such a novelty as a treaty with a band 
of robbers in open rebellion, who have suffered ex- 
tensively in two engagements with the government 
troops. We therefore repaired four days ago to the 
hacienda ' San Loranzo, ' being the nearest to this place 
owned by Mr. Zuluaga. And at this establishment, 
among other interesting matters, I met with a school- 
mate of Judge Duval, who is a brother-in-law of Mr. 
Zuluaga 's — I think that his name is 'Lano.' (I shall 
not stop to tell you of this estate or of any other 
minutia except that we traveled with a large armed 
force besides the servants of the Senor Zuluaga.) We 
reached the town of Alamo or Via de Viesta without 
harm, and on our arrival there about dark, the people 
were in waiting and were ' hurrahing ' for 'Don 
Leonardo/ The soldiers presented arms; the music- 



228 HYPHENATED 

ians (brass band) played some National airs; and 
when I alighted from the carriage and was presented 
to General Hinojosa (formerly Minister of War, Gov- 
ernor of Mexico, etc.) the tune was changed to 'Yan- 
kee Doodle, ' which very much amused us all. I found 
Don Leonardo Zuluaga a most companionable gentle- 
man, very much like your father in size and appear- 
ance, but full of fun and good humor. He speaks 
English fluently, and I have the happiness to know 
that he confessed to General Hinojosa that I had 
persuaded him to make the concession and to be gen- 
erous and forgiving; and General Hinojosa, who is 
apparently childlike in his disposition and very kind 
and benovelent in his nature, treated me like a 
brother. The difficulty being settled, we had an eve- 
ning of rejoicing at the headquarters of General Hin- 
ojosa, and this morning very early we left the confines 
of the State of Durango and after traveling all day, 
using relay after relay of mules, we arrived here at 
dark, leaving Don Leonardo at his hacienda. To- 
morrow morning, Senors Aquierro and Zuluaga are to 
go to Monterey and for that reason I am sitting up 
writing to you. 

"May God grant us all his merciful favors and 
trusting in His goodness, I feel that it is now more 
than ever my duty to fall down on my knees and 
adore Him. * * *" 



HYPHENATED 229 

Fearing that these abstracts may create the im- 
pression that Swenson was vain and sought to appear 
prominent when away from home, we submit another 
letter from Monterey, dated Dec. 6th, 1863: 

1 ' I left Matamoras in company with Mr. Brush and 
his son and two Mexican gentlemen, on the 28th of 
November; and we arrived here on the 2nd of Decem- 
ber, without any accident or adventure, save the in- 
jury of a foot apiece, of the driver and whipper at- 
tendant on the stage. 

"The country from Matamoras for forty leagues 
is level, sterile, wild and dry ; not a drop of rain has 
fallen (save near Matamoras) for three years past, 
consequently no grass was seen until we reached the 
irrigated land near the mountains. For fifty leagues 
in this direction, the country is undulating and some- 
times hilly, very much resembling the Barton creek 
country, save the want of grass. The road, however, 
is very good with few hills, but a gradual ascent, 
and is constantly in view of the Sierra Madre moun- 
tains, for the whole distance of fifty leagues. We 
traveled very fast in the daytime, stopping at the 
ranches at night. The accommodation at these stop- 
ping places is poor. We had some provisions with us, 
otherwise our fare would have been very bad. The 
passengers usually slept on the dirt floor, but I man- 
aged to hire beds for two nights. The people are poor 



230 HYPHENATED 

but very polite, accommodating, and hospitable with 
their scanty means. And on the ranches I believe 
that they are honest. At any rate we lost nothing 
out of the multitude of loose baggage which always 
remained in the stage at night; and it was never 
watched by us. The driver, however, slept in the 
stage at night, The weather was very cold when we 
left Matamoras, and continued so until we reached 
this place ; and as the Mexican houses, or rather huts, 
have no fireplaces, we felt the cold, which w r as below 
freezing, very keenly. The Mexicans, however, placed 
live coals of fire in the middle of the floor and we 
squatted down around the spot; thus we were made 
comfortable. 

1 ' We crossed two or three rivers on our way — all as 
dry as a powder horn ; but they showed signs of hav- 
ing had water there at no distant period. Some of 
the ranches were quite populous, and in Texas could 
be called towns, considering the number of inhabitants. 
We passed through one city — La Guadarita — which is 
situated near the mountains and is only six hours 
drive from this city. La Guadarita is a beautiful 
place and exceedingly clean; the streets were well 
paved and the yards, which are large, were planted 
with orange trees, shrubbery, etc. The plaza is a 
luxurious lounging place, also set out with orange 
trees, oleander and other shrubs which grow here into 



HYPHENATED 231 

respectable sized trees. Willie Brush picked up the 
golden fruit from the ground, and I bought a dozen 
of the finest oranges I ever saw for one 'bit'. The city 
is irrigated from a mountain stream which encircles 
the place and also serves to irrigate a large scope 
of the country around the town. 

' ' The day that we arrived at La Guadarita, we had 
nothing to eat until 3 p. m. except, meeting a Mexican 
with a number of asses loaded with fruit from whom 
we bought a variety of fruit compressed into cakes 
such as figs, and the fruits of the two species of cactus, 
walnuts, apples, etc. 

"From La Guadarita to Monterey, we wound 
around the mountain frequently, through lanes of 
oranges, shrubbery and cactus. The fields were burd- 
ened with crops of sugar cane, corn in roasting ears, 
and various other stages of growth, also barley and 
oats just up, but beautifully green; this was most 
refreshing after having seen nothing but parched 
lands or chaparral, or at best only forests of mesquite, 
ebony rantana and ouisatche brush, with here and 
there a tall tree, the name of which I do not know. 
Palm trees are growing on the hills. Along the road 
every mile or so, there is a cross which marks the 
place where some poor fellow has come to an untimely 
end — the unfortunate victim of revenge or cupidity. 
In this line of Mexican accomplishment, I witnessed 



232 HYPHENATED 

on the road a fellow bare-headed and pursued by two 
horsemen, who overtook him when he got directly 
opposite our stage. I was looking out at the time, and 
saw the foremost pursuer fire upon the unfortunate 
culprit, whom I afterward learned had stolen some- 
thing; but our 'cochero' did not slacken the speed 
of our Gilpin race; so I could not ascertain the fate 
of the thief. 

"It is astonishing how far the little Mexican mule 
can go on the gallop. We had only two teams on the 
whole route and we traveled ninety leagues (a dis- 
tance of 236.7 miles) in four days during the day- 
light. 

"On my arrival here, I stopped at the 'Hotel de 
Francis y Americano, ' kept by a Frenchman, or rather 
by his sturdy wife. She is the prime director of all 
affairs, as I afterwards learned from her husband, 
who, invariably, refers me to her in all questions of 
importance, such as getting a sheet or a pillow-case 
for the bare cot. The table and fare are excellent, the 
coffee superb, and the attendance at the hotel very 
good. The rest of the accommodation was very bad. 
I slept there one night with seven others (all Texans) 
in the same room ; I had a cot without a mattress. A 
tallow candle's light dispersed the darkness so as 
to prevent our falling over each other in that jail-like, 
dismal apartment. On day before yesterday, I ob- 



HYPHENATED 233 

tained a very good room on one of the principal streets, 
with all the comforts and privileges appertaining to 
the establishment of a Mexican Grandee, such as a 
roomy court, a good well, etc. All were kept clean 
and neat. The room is about 18 feet square and about 
the same height, with a wall about four feet thick, 
iron grating outside the windows and thick oaken 
shutters inside, no window glasses. The door is 
equally substantial, the floor is cemented, clean and 
smooth ; but no fireplace, which in this genial climate 
is a superfluity, except in extraordinary times as the 
few days mentioned ; but here the cold could not have 
been so severe as it did not affect the sugar cane. 

"I have furnished the apartment in a sumptuous 
manner, having a cot, a table, three chairs, a washbowl 
and pitcher ; and I expect to be able to procure a mat- 
trees and a pillow. I have also as a loan from my 
astute landlady of the hotel, a pair of sheets; so 
you see I am quite comfortable, and find Monterey 
thus far a delightful place. The distant mountains 
surround the city, varying in height from 5400 to 
6500 feet. The houses are purely Spanish, but gen- 
erally large, and here are many imposing structures of 
apparently great antiquity and many others still 
more magnificent under construction. The streets are 
regular, crossing at right angles, well paved, with 
good sidewalks, very clean, but rather narrow. The 



234 HYPHENATED 

population is about 30,000. The people are very 
quiet and exceedingly polite. The American residents 
are hospitable and I judge socially inclined. I dined 
with Mr. H. Smyth of San Antonio who is here with 
his family, and took tea yesterday at the house of 
another Texan, and I have several other invitations. 
One of my traveling companions, Sr. Don Miguel Mart- 
inez y Gardenas, has also shown us much attention, 
inviting Mr. and Mrs. Brush to call at his house. I 
had a letter of introduction to Governor Vidauri, 
which I presented at the palace, and I was overwhelm- 
ed with kindness and attention, protestations of 
friendship and offers of service as well as wishes that 
my stay in the city would prove agreeable to me. 

"I was somewhat embarrassed, however, to be 
thought a refugee, which my poor stock of Spanish 
was hardly able to correct. The Governor having set 
the example, all the other officials at the palace were 
equally polite and civil; and one of them, whom I 
took to be the Secretary of State, accompanied me to 
the outer gate, conversing fluently in English. 

"I called also at the residence of Mr. Frank Paschal, 
a sincere and ardent Southern man. He has a very 
pleasant residence and beautiful garden with an 
orange grove in the suburbs of the city, and on the 
street leading to the Bishop's palace. He understood 
that his neighbor directly opposite had some rooms 



HYPHENATED 235 

to rent, and for that purpose we called there. He 
also mentioned that the property was for sale, and 
as the old Spaniard very politely invited us to view 
the premises, we walked through the grounds. It 
contained one labor (equals 177 acres of land) front- 
ing about 600 yards on the street enclosed by a 
stone wall six or seven feet high. The buildings were 
ancient and cloister-like and apparently uncomfort- 
able, but the ground is splendid. Ten or twelve acres 
are set with oranges, peaches, sweet lemons, fruit 
bearing cactus high as trees, bananas and some very 
large fruit trees, the name of which I do not remem- 
ber, but Mr. Paschal said it bore a very delicious 
fruit, and the product is worth several hundred dollars 
per acre. Of orange trees, all of which were loaded 
with fruit, there were more than 500 — standing in 
regular double lines with walks between and forming 
hollow squares, which squares were planted in cab- 
bage, curry, pepper, lettuce, onions, radishes, sweet 
and Irish potatoes and ornamented with shrubbery, 
such as roses, oleanders, lillies (a specie as large as 
a shrub). The rest of the ground was in cane which 
grew to perfection. The cane was being cut and 
ground for sugar making. In a grove of shade trees 
there was a large water tank which answered the 
double purpose of bathing and irrigating the grounds. 
The tank was supplied from running water from a 



236 HYPHENATED 

stream near the Bishop's palace. This palace is im- 
mediately at the foot of the saddle peak of the Sierra 
Madre. There is no good land between this place 
and the mountain. The view is magnificent, the air 
bracing, and were there a permanent American popu- 
lation, it would be a very desirable place of residence. 
The Mexicans of the better classes are very exclusive 
and do not associate with the Americans. They are, 
however, very polite and polished in their manner and 
move in considerable style. At least, I judge so from 
their carriages, apparel, the kind of goods, and the 
furniture for sale in the stores, etc. 

"I have commenced bathing in the hot springs one 
and one-half leagues distant, and I have no doubt the 
water is beneficial, though not so hot nor so abundant 
as in Arkansas; but I have improved so much while 
traveling that I do not feel the same anxiety that I 
formerly did. The springs are not much of a resort 
and are badly kept. In fact, there is no accommoda- 
tion whatever, not even a towel, or a broom to clean 
the dirty floor in the dressing room; but I carried 
both with me and left the place clean, as well as much 
benefited myself. I bid adieu to the accumulated dirt, 
which is one of the permanent institutions in this 
in Munificent country, and I may add, also, of the great 
mass of this magnanimous nation. 

"Two days ago nine Texans arrived who had passed 



HYPHENATED 237 

through Austin on their way down; they stopped at 
the same hotel where I board. In the papers which 
they brought with them, I read the valedictory of 
Governor Lubbock and the inaugural address of Gov- 
ernor Murrah. 

' ' I shall be exceedingly glad to know that you are all 
well. I fear that you have had cold weather and 
that you or the children may have taken cold. I 
sometimes imagine many unpleasant things in these 
troublous times. The best thing, my dear wife, is to 
exercise the prerogative of a good conscience, and not 
be afraid of anything. Stay at home, cultivate the 
friendship of our good neighbors, console yourself with 
the children, and above all, be cheerful and patient. 
Kiss the children and embrace them for me, and bid 
them be good. Remember me affectionately to all; 
my love also to Augusta and relatives. What I wish 
to express to you, I shall suppress, as it would no 
doubt be interesting to those who deem it their duty 
to peruse this letter, for I am told it is one of the 
precautionary measures of war .to inspect letters, 
which is no doubt right in these perilous times. 

"Adieu, my dear wife. May God bless you and 
protect you. 

"Yours, 

"SWENSON." 



238 HYPHENATED 

From Monterey, February 28, 1864, we give the 
following extract of a letter: 
1 ' My dear wife : 

' ' My last letter was from San Luis Potosi. * * * 
I thank you for your kind letter of the 7th January 
and the 26th January, and, none the least, for the am- 
brotypes — the latter I can hardly keep from looking 
at every moment. My reason for risking this dan- 
gerous travel for more than 140 leagues was owing 
to my desire to get back to the frontier where I could 
possibly hear from you. On coming here I called 
also on the family of President Juarez, who send their 
compliments to you. The President, however, is sick 
and I did not see him. A war is brewing between him 
and Governor Vidauri, and it may break out any day 
here in Monterey. I passed the troops on the road 
between Saltillo and this place ; but so far from mo- 
lesting me I dined with the Colonel in command, and 
when I encountered Governor Vidauri 's scouts this 
side, they only questioned me as to what nation I 
belonged to, and let me pass with a courteous saluta- 
tion. It is really remarkable that among all these 
conflicting parties all agree in showing kindness to a 
foreigner. 

"At the dinner table today I met with Eugene 
Bremjond, but I simply exchanged salutations with 
him. He looks very well indeed. Little Willie Brush 



HYPHENATED 239 

called on me; he is a well mannered and sweet little 
boy. 

' ' Along with the letters I received here in Monterey 
is one from my brother and one from Dan Heard. 
Willie sends his love to Greta and Eric. All are well 
in Sweden. # * * I am excited and bewildered 
with all my good news and the letters I have re- 
ceived. The only drawback is that little miserable 
newspaper squibble which is doubly false in one sen- 
tence, because, unlike the author, I never wore a mask. 
Consequently I have none to throw off and have as 
little clamored for subjugation as I have for secession. 
If any expression of mine can be tortured into such 
an idea, it has been an ardent desire for peace, and 
this I repeat from the bottom of my heart, and I envy 
not the feelings of any man who cannot say, Amen, 
thereto. 

' ' But, my dear wife, do not let this disturb you, and 
if I was sure it did not, I should laugh right heartily 
at the puny effort to keep the good people of Texas 
advised that there is such a person as my humble 
self. * * *" 

Twice as much correspondence could be produced 
from Swenson's stay in Mexico, but the above .will 
sufSce. 

With his usual shrewd business foresight, he de- 
cided not to return to Texas, but to establish com- 



240 HYPHENATED 

nmnication with the Swedish General Consul Count 
Piper in Washington and Consul Habhicht at New 
York; and through them and the Secretary of Treas- 
ury S. P. Chase, obtain permission to ship cotton to 
the North, being able to prove that previous to and 
during the war, he had been purchasing cotton on 
foreign account, and was now storing it at different 
places in Texas and Mexico. He advised August (his 
cousin) to collect all outstanding debts and convert 
the money into cotton. Cotton was then, on account 
of the rigorous blockade, very cheap in Texas; and 
the profits realized on it later proved enormous. 

Swenson stayed in Mexico until June of 1865, his 
sojourn there being twenty months in all. With 
Judge Duval, his "comrade in exile," he arrived in 
New Orleans early in July, 1865. 

Thus ended a sad, tedious, and trying chapter of 
Swenson 's life in Texas. 




"LITTLE NORA" 



CHAPTER XV 
NIGHTWATCHES. 

The great disturbance as the Finnish folklore call 
the war of 1808-09 between Finland — unassisted by 
Sweden to which it belonged, and to which it looked 
for help and assistance — and Russia, when famine and 
pestilence claimed what the soldiers and the war had 
not destroyed, has been remembered from father to 
son, and even to grandchildren, as being a dark, 
dreary period when the torches failed to give light at 
night time, and the fire on the hearth, to warm the 
house. The period of the civil war in America was 
a dismal time, when no comforts of life could console 
the anxious minds of those who gathered around the 
tables at mealtime, or around the fireplace at night 
in the thousands of homes in the Southland. There 
was scarce a home from which some son, father, 
brother, or relative had not left. "Who could feel 
cheerful, when life and death were in the balance? 
"Who would not think about the dear ones, exposed, 
yes ragged, hungry, nay, perhaps, sick, and under 



242 HYPHENATED 

the bare heavens when a norther raged? And the 
battlefields with their tolls of precious lives, and the 
messages that came, telling of someone, who was never 
more to return. "Who can picture the days of anxiety 
when battles were pending. And when the balance 
seemed at last to turn in favor of the Federal army ? 
Then came the days of hardship for the poor and 
needy, when women had to take men's places, and 
try to find ways and means to procure food and cloth- 
ing for the family. There were serious misgivings 
also inj the circles of higher officials, when it was 
rumored that Gen. Hamilton was going to be 
provisional governor at the end of the war. 
More than one official planned for the same 
journey to Mexico, their own policy had compelled 
others to make. Surely there was not a house without 
a heartache in it. Food was not relished. Sleep was 
disturbed by terrible dreams. A nightmare was hover- 
ing over the fair, once so prosperous, Lone Star 
State. It was rumored that the old wounds of Gen- 
Houston were breaking out again, that he was dying, 
and finally, in the latter part of July, almost simul- 
taneously with the news that Vicksburg had fallen, 
came the news that General Houston was no more. 

"I don't care what they say," old Jackson de- 
fiantly remarked to Mrs. Swenson, as she watched him 
plant grapevines on the hillsides, "but they shore 



HYPHENATED 243 

treated General Houston dirty. Just to think what 
he has done for this country. ' ' 

"Hush. Jackson," Mrs. Swenson said. "You must 
be careful what you say. Didn't Swenson tell you 
to keep your mouth shut, when he went away? But 
here come old Mr. Grumble. I must read the greet- 
ing to him from Swenson, that will tickle the old 
man. ' ' 

Grumble was quite a character among the neighbors 
in those days, illiterate, selfwilled, and careless in 
expression, his old age granting him exemption from 
censure. 

"Well, they're licking them fireaters pretty hard 
I hear," he managed to say as he stopped to catch 
breath. ' ' Serves them right, py golly. Howdy, Mrs. 
Swenson. ' ' 

"Not so loud, Mr. Grumble, some one might hear 
you." 

"Let them hear it, py golly. I say lick 'em, lick 
'em good. Don't I remember how they done with 
Gen. Hamilton, his chile sick wid distemperate (diph- 
theria) an' de General hidden in de cave up 
yonder and wanted to see dat chile so bad. Wad did 
dey do ? Set out guards to ketch him in de nite time. 
An I jes go down der one mawning an' seed three 
of dem guards asleep, sure as you're bawn. An I jes 
steal up and grab de gun an poke dem in de ribs, sez 



244 HYPHENATED 

I, 'Ged up now you are my prisoners.' Oh Lawdy, 
Mrs. Swenson, you ought to hab seed dem." And the 
old man told his story for the twentieth time — no 
one could stop him. 

"Well, Mr. Grumble/' Mrs. Swenson managed to 
say, when he stopped for breath again, ' ' Mr. Swenson 
wrote in his last letter and sent his compliments to 
you, ' ' and she read that part of the letter which said, 
"Present my compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Grumble, 
also let Mrs. Hamilton know that the General has 
arrived at his destination and has been dined most 
sumptuously." 

"Py golly, dats fine," he exclaimed. "Much er- 
blighed, Mrs. Swenson" — and the old man started 
off towards the Hamilton homestead across the creek, 
and startled the whole household over there, by tell- 
ing them that Col. Swenson had written from Mexico, 
telling Mrs. Swenson that the General was "dying 
consumptiously" in Mexico! 

The quick despatch which was sent, post haste, to 
the Swenson homestead to learn the real truth, re- 
turned immediately and dispelled the consternation, 
and the first smile for a good long while flitted across 
the noble, heroic face of the wife of the General in 
exile. 

"The old man will run around on those hills and 
get lost one day, ' ' one of the young girls remarked. 



HYPHENATED 245 

"Well, I have heard that Mrs. Grumble ties him 
down in a chair sometimes/ 7 someone remarked, "to 
keep him from running around so much. " 

"Some restraint would be necesary, if he runs 
around with such communications to his neighbors 
as we have received/' Mrs. Hamilton remarked. 

"But he made you smile all right, mother. " 

Miss Mary Hamilton, sent by her mother, came over 
to Mrs. Swenson 's one day in the fall of 1864. They 
were going to leave for New Orleans. Federal ships 
would meet them at Galveston or Columbia, and take 
them over. They wanted to say goodbye. ' ' How sat- 
isfied I will feel, if we can only put our feet on 
Federal soil," Miss Hamilton confided. "We man- 
aged to get the boys out of here before they were 
drafted for the army. And now, dear Mrs. Swenson, 
thank you ever so much for being such a good neigh- 
bor. I only wish you could go with us." 

There was a wistful look, and a few tears in Mrs. 
Swenson's eyes, as she answered: "Swenson says in 
his last letter that I must not be surprised if the next 
communication comes from Havana. Nothing is set- 
tled yet I understand. But if ever I get safely out of 
here, I will never come back. I never want to live 
near, or have to look at, that unfinished house, stand- 



246 HYPHENATED 

ing there as if it was haunted. But you may have to 
come back, Miss Hamilton, if rumors prove true. ' ' 
"Oh well, ' there is many a slip'. — " 
"But Goodbye. Goodbye." And so they went. 
But how their sailing was prevented, and their home 
destroyed by fire, are part of another story not yet 

written. 

* % * # # # # 

The Honorable Swente Palm, agent for the exten- 
sive interest of the Swenson properties had also his 
share of troubles. Some Confederate officers wanted 
to impress the Swenson buildings for Government and 
army purposes. Among other reasons enumerated, 
they claimed that they needed it to smoke and cure 
bacon in, for the army. When Palm demanded to 
be permitted to see the order from the superior com- 
mander, he was snubbed and told they would take it 
by force. They would batter down the doors, if he 
did not deliver the keys within a given time. It re- 
quired all the diplomatic skill Palm had acquired in 
the Government service of the Old Country, and all 
the shrewdness he had learned in this State to evade 
serious complications. But with the assistance of the 
brilliant lawyer Paschal as his attorney, General Ma- 
gruder, to whom he appealed for protection, inter- 
fered in the behalf of the Palm and the Swenson 
properties. 



HYPHENATED 247 

(In his bold application for protection to General 
Magruder, Paschal pointed out: "that it was a good 
building which had cost a liberal minded citizen prob- 
ably a hundred thousand dollars to erect, that the din- 
ing room of the hotel would necessarily be on the 
second floor of the building with the bacon smoking 
underneath." He pointed out how other more suit- 
able buildings had been offered, how a new cylinder 
press that no one knew how to take apart and set 
up again, was housed in the establishment, and wound 
up his presentation of the case with a sarcastic ad- 
vice to the General, to send such martial sons to the 
front where real battles were to be found, instead 
of molesting peaceful citizens at home. ' ' The dismal, 
tragic night scene when fifteen armed men entered 
the Paschal home, under pretense that they wanted 
to escort him to General Magruder, to answer for his 
impudent and bold actions during the war, when he 
himself as well as the family apprehended the worst, 
is still remembered by some, who were present during 
that heartrending separation. The deputation, how- 
ever thought it better to let him return to his family 
unmolested.) 

"While it is true that the Texas unionists loved 
their country too well to create any internal strife 
or rebellion, it is equally true that the secessionists 
with chivalrous courtesy hardly, if ever, molested 



248 HYPHENATED 

women and children. This is their unspotted "coat 
of arms" — kept clean, no matter what their sins 
otherwise might be, and it is this, that is the pride of 
the men of the south today. That excepted, it was 
war to the death with men opposed to Confederate 
ideals. 

Thus it was a wonder that something did not hap- 
pen to the man who was so distinctly then, as well 
as now, classed as "one of the leaders in the Union 
group of men." 

Palm trembled a little, sometimes Mrs. Palm and 
Miss Laura took turns crying, and wished they could 
move home to the little old cramped town of Calmar, 
in Sweden, which seemed to them a most cozy and 
safe place. They had forgotten how like birds in a cage 
they had felt, in the old days gone by. They just had 
the memory of the safe old home nest, that was also 
found within the confines of that "cage." To be 
sure, we never know when we are "well off" — and 
then they cried a little bit more — and wrote brave 
letters home to old Captain Aim and the family in 
Calmar. 

The afore mentioned determined policy which Palm 
and Swenson had agreed on to invest in land, when- 
ever a good opportunity could be found, was closely 
adhered to. Numerous tracts of land scattered all 
over the State were purchased, sometimes for mer- 



HYPHENATED 249 

chandise, or for a small sum of money, land being 
considered almost valueless without improvements. 

In this way they laid the foundation for their im- 
mense fortunes in later years, hj having and exercis- 
ing the sense which other men lacked. 

The spring of 1865 brought the astonishing news 
of President Lincoln's assassination, and later, the 
fall of the Southern Confederacy, and the appoint- 
ment of General Hamilton as Provisional Governor 
of Texas. August B. Palm was back again, ready 
to take over the Swenson interests in the store. The 
Munsons, Nelsons, Christiansons, and others, together 
with several refugees from Mexico, were flocking back 
to their old home places. The fields, partly grown 
in weeds, were planted in some crop in the hope that 
favorable fall weather would help out what was lost 
of spring opportunities. 

Mrs. Swenson, assisted by servants, renters, and the 
ever-ready Swente Palm, was managing, supervising, 
and planning from the hill. Never before had her 
administrative abilities been so extensively called into 
play. She planned for all the land to be planted in 
corn. It would be needed, no doubt. But she felt 
strangely weak, lonesome, and helpless sometimes. 
Then, one summer evening in July, Palm came with 



250 HYPHENATED 

a letter from New Orleans. It was in Swenson's 
handwriting. 

4 'New Orleans, 2nd July, 1865. 
1 ' My dear wife : 

"This morning early, I parted with my friend in 
exile, Judge Duval, who, with his family returns to 
Texas. After he was gone I had a spell of serious re- 
flections, — natural to the occasion of separating from 
a friend, who has stuck closer than a brother. 

"On yesterday morning I was attacked with diar- 
rhea, which has weakened me very much, but I am 
better now. Am sitting up, no doubt entirely re- 
stored except that I am quite weak. This is the rea- 
son I did not write to you yesterday, as I had in- 
tended. I wrote to Uncle last night and sent it by 
Peterson and Mr. Morril, both of whom left yester- 
day. 

"Kev. Gilette is here. I am sorry I can not go to 
church to hear him today. I think it would be im- 
prudent to stir about. Duval Beall is here and is kind 
enough to take this note to Judge Duval, who is 
detained because the boat has no sailing orders. He 
and other friends will call on you and tell you more 
than I can tell you in a letter. 

"God bless you, my dear, dear wife. Kiss the chil- 
dren and write to me soon. 

"Your affectionate husband. 

"SWENSON." 



HYPHENATED 251 

Then came some more letters from New Orleans, 
and some verbal messages through the Duvals and 
Morrills, when they arrived. An informal dinner 
for the Palms; a few good-bye visits, and on a beau- 
tiful fall morning the whole family, with packed 
trunks, all preliminaries disposed of, were ready to 
leave for New Orleans. 

Mrs. Swenson stopped on the porch and cast a 
last glance around. "Well, good-bye, old place, " she 
nodded towards the half -finished ruin and whispered 
something, while Augusta and Edla tried to get the 
children in the hack. "Ill never, never, want to 
come back and live over again the last three years,' 7 
she said to herself. "It has been like standing guard 
during a long dark night. But come, children, let 
us go." 

But Eric was giving some information to Holm- 
strom. Greta wanted to lock the door to her play- 
house. Albin had some pets, and Nora wanted to 
sit on Jackson's shoulders once more. It was a hard 
matter to tear away from the old homestead after 
all. It nestled up among the hills so snug and shel- 
tered. 

' ' It will be hard to find a prettier place, ' ' observed 
Edla. 

"Well, I , have spent nearly fourteen years here," 
said Mrs. Swenson; "years that would have been the 



252 HYPHENATED 

happiest of my life, but for this terrible war. I love 
the place, but I hate the memories of the last three 
or four years/' 

"Well good-bye, Emely; good-bye Uncle Gustav" — 
and the air was full of good-byes for a while. 

August was delegated to accompany them to New 
Orleans, where he also had Albin's picture made. 

Otto, a distant relative, was installed in the house 
to take care of the place. 

But in one corner of the parlor stood the bust of 
Houston, cast in plaster of Paris — forgotten. 

"I guess they thought he would break in the ship- 
ping," remarked Otto to his wife as he moved the 
bust to what he thought a safer place. 

But Swenson did not forget his noble friend, neither 
the bust. 

It was some time after the departure of the Swen- 
son family, that B. A. Shepherd, from Houston, sud- 
denly, unannounced, stood at Palm's door one night. 

"Who is it?" Palm demanded. 

"It is Shepherd from Houston," answered a quiet 
voic 

It was with some misgivings and suspicion Palm 
opened the door and lot the light fall on the well- 
known benevolent face of Shepherd. 



HYPHENATED 253 

1 1 Well I declare ! What brings you around at this 
time of day, Mr. Shepherd?' 

Shepherd looked around in the room and said in 
a low tone, "Business." 

Palm looked like an interrogation mark. 

"Well, Palm, you see it is this way. I have de- 
cided to reopen my business and banking institution 
under my own management again. We deemed it 
wise to close down during the war. I never liked to 
risk either my own or other people's funds. Abso- 
lutely safe and conservative principles are my motto. 
I think I am known and trusted yet for that. And 
my great aim is to live up to it in the future. I 
am proud to know that Swenson trusted me, and still 
trusts me, for that" — He rose up and said in low, 
almost whispering tone, "Are we sure not to be over- 
heard?" 

Palm, mystified, motioned him to come to his private 
room. The door shut, he resumed, in a low confiden- 
tial tone : ' ' Swenson has something like $20,000 de- 
posited in the fireplaces of his old house in Govalle, 
and has asked me to come up here and get you to go 
with me out there and unearth those funds. Did you 
suspect anything like that, Palm?" 

Palm smacked his lips. "Oh well," he said, "now 
I remember that sudden fishing party, when Swen- 
son was so set on having us all go to the river, while 



254 HYPHENATED 

he had the fireplaces repaired, on the pretext that the 
rain had damaged so much at home. He told me that 
the papers deposited with you would show where the 
funds were placed, if I missed any money in* the safe. 
Oh, he was discreet all right. " 

"I think Swenson is one of the few men that have 
made any money while all the rest of us have lost, 
during this war. Do you know how his cotton in- 
vestment is panning out?" 

"No." Palm did not know exactly. 

"Well, they say the profit is going to run into 
sums that can only be expressed in seven figures." 

' ' Swenson is, no doubt, cut out for a financier, ' ? said 
Palm. 

"Exactly. Now as to my errand. Can we go out 
there tomorrow and attend to that part of the job? 
Have you got a trusty man around there? I want 
to go out there in the morning and leave from there 
for Bastrop. Then I can make it to Richmond in 
two days." 

Otto had hardly finished his breakfast when the 
two men were on the place. To think that so much 
money was hidden in the house and nobody knew 
anything about it. It was wonderful. And Otto 
pried the bricks loose, broke the mortar underneath 
in pieces, dug carefully in the dirt and struck some- 
thing hard. There it is ! They all exclaimed. A few 



HYPHENATED 255 

more careful spadings brought the ducking covered 
box with its contents to light. The tin box was lifted 
out, opened, and the contents counted. Ten thousand 
dollars in gold rolls, a few ten-dollar gold pieces, a few 
silver dollars — all there. 

Now for the other place. To describe one place is 
to describe both. "Yes, the money is all there, Palm, 
and I want you to sign an acknowiedgment that you 
have turned the fund over to me, and I will acknowl- 
edge that I have received the same. That will be en- 
dorsement of check and certificate of deposit." [It 
is said that about $40,000 were deposited in a safe 
buried in the store building and unearthed at Shep- 
herd 's visit also. How much of this is true, has never 
been asserted.] 

"I hope you will have proper escort, Mr. Shep- 
herd!" 

"Oh, I will have some trusty gentlemen for com- 
pany from Bastrop. We will make the journey thither 
in full day light. But we are well prepared and are 
not going to take any risk." And in a few minutes 
he was driving down the hill in a brisk trot. 

"This is a funry country, 'shore/ " communicated 
Otto to Mr. Palm, as they watched the vehicle dis- 
appear down the creek. 

But when Ernest, the mason, heard about the great 
sum of money he had unknowingly helped to hide 



256 HYPHENATED 

away so successfully, he exclaimed: "Mein Gott, 
vot fool I vos!" 

It was a very excited and impatient company from 
Texas, aboard the good steamship, delayed by a Gulf 
hurricane, that plied the waters between Galveston 
and New Orleans as it slowly, oh so slowly, but ma- 
jestically came up the charnel to New Orleans. The 
telephone at the arm of the modern business man 
was unknown in those days, and Swenson, after having 
inquired for the thirtieth time if the "Reliance" had 
arrived in sight yet, determined to devote his time to 
correspondence aEd business in the hotel at the cor- 
ner of Commerce and Canal Streets, when a rumbling 
sound on the stairway arrested his attention. 

"Ith papa up there? 7 ' queried a shrill little voice 
that electrified his whole being, and had in its sound 
music more beautiful than any melody he ever heard 
in his life, either before or after that momertous 
hour. 

The next moment he was standing iii the doorway 
fondly embracing his brave life partner, the wife who 
so heroically had watched and tended the brood of 
young children and brought them all safely there with 
her. 

His face twitched like one in convulsion, ard tears 
trickled down his cheeks and mingled with hers as 



HYPHENATED 257 

she sobbed almost hysterically. Then he opened his 
arms, and, gathering his four children, was kissed and 
"mussed" to his heart's content. 

There was laughter galore, and the reticent Augusta 
and Edla at last came in for a word of greeting and 
praise, while August stood like a military guard dur- 
ing the scene, and only made a short salute, 

But what is the use of trying to picture the re- 
union of a family after a separation of nearly two 
years ? Suffice it to say that it was a complete triumph 
of human nature, with all its affections, over the cold 
calculating shrewd business man. And the wife said 
contentedly: "Now I will let you take the place at 
the helm of affairs again," while the children hum- 
med: "My papa! My papa!" — 

The following incidents will show how Swenson re- 
membered old friends and servants in Texas later. 
When Morgan Hamilton was Comptroller and Sam 
Harris, Treasurer, with Swente Palm clerk in the 
Comptroller's department, while he at the same time 
received appointment as vice consul for Sweden and 
Norway, the State eleemosynary institutions — Insane, 
Deaf and Dumb, and Blind Institutes were so desti- 
tute of funds that it was recommended to close them 
down and send the inmates to their respective homes. 
In vain did August Palm offer to credit them with pro- 
visions for any length of time needed. About $50,000 



258 HYPHENATED 

cash money was needed to keep them in run- 
ning shape without interruption. A telegram to 
Swer.son in New York was all that was necessary. 

The money was forthcoming without inquiries. The 
situation was saved. Friends from old days were not 
forgotten. 

Some years later, Andrew Palm, brother of August 
B. Palm, of Palm Valley, was delegated and author- 
ized by Swenson to go to Eichmond in Fort Bend 
County and distribute different tracts of land to the 
old slaves that had served Swenson during his stay 
on the plantation. The old hands received from 40 to 
80 acres of land apiece, and deeds which stipulated 
that it must be inherited from father to son, but never 
to be sold. 

The pipe dream that the government was going to 
give each negro "forty acres of land and a mule'' was 
never realized, but Swenson was not the only man 
who showed his old slaves that he remembered their 
faithful services. 

The valuable collection of thousands of rare coins, 
which Swenson donated to the State University, 
proved his loyalty to the best interests of the State 
where he resided for over twenty-five years, and 
where he had intended to remain permanently. 

It yet remains for the University to befittingly dis- 
play this collection of rare coins, for students and 



HYPHENATED 259 

visitors, instead of having them closed up in a big 
iron safe, in a dark place where they can scarcely be 
inspected. 

The land, property, and pecuniary help he gave to 
relatives, the education he bestowed upon others, the 
part he took in the immigration movement from 
Sweden to Texas, all goes to show his love and in- 
terest for the welfare of Texas. But the part that 
he and his brother in Sweden, "Johan i Langasa," 
took in the great immigration movement to this coun- 
try during the latter part of the sixties is part of an- 
other chapter. 



CHAPTEE XVI 

THE MERCHANT PRINCE 

The Swenson Mercantile establishment on Com- 
merce and Canal Streets in New Orleans, covering 
nearly a whole block, besides great warehouses in other 
parts of the city, was one of the great business houses 
in those days. Dry goods, leather goods, hides, wool 
and cotton were handled in enormous quantities. 
Swenson seemed to have access to almost unlimited 
funds, and the Perkin, Swenson & Company banking 
business in New Orleans was subsequently formed. 

"Do you know, Swenson, that the Atlantic cable is 
relaid and works like a charm ? ' ' Perkins confided one 
day. 

"Truly, wonders have not ceased," Swenson com- 
mented. "Think what it will mean to business and 
government ? I believe I will send a telegram home to 
mother in Lattarp one of these days." 

There were almost no limit to possibilities opened 
up by the telegraph in those days — if only the At- 
lantic cable would hold this time. They remembered 



HYPHENATED 261 

the result in 1857, and the disappointment when it 
failed to work. But the cable held. 

Swenson early developed the fondness for the S. M. 
S. signature, and used it very much as trade marks 
are used today, pregnant with a dignified, substantial 
importance which Swensoij endeavored to give it. 

"I cannot tell you how proud he was of that sig- 
nature, " one of his employees remarked. 

A check with the S. M. S. was cashed in Hartford, 
Conn., by a relative, as readily as in New York or 
New Orleans. 

Old Harloe, the hatter, of New Orleans, happened 
to return with his cargo of New York goods on the 
same boat as an S. M. S. shipment. On the way 
up the channel the boat foundered, and the goods 
were thrown, in confusion, overboard * and the old 
gentleman among them. Anxious for his perishable 
goods, he floundered about, among the boxes and 
bales in the water. ' c But it seemed to me, Swenson, ' ' 
he related, "that wherever I looked, there was S. M. 
S. on every box that floated around me." 

"Seems to me Swenson," he remarked, "if you are 
going at it in this fashion, you will S. M. S, the 
whole town before you quit." 

It was very near the fulfilling of the Govalle dream, 
where big ships unloaded on one side, and merchan- 
dise rolled out on the other side of the store. After 



262 HYPHENATED 

a little over two years operations, the hard times of 
the reconstruction period forced Swenson to close out 
in New Orleans and open the Swenson & Perkins 
banking house in New York. Swenson, in order to 
protect his interests later, took over the great North 
Bend sugar plantation in Louisiana. It was here 
and in New Orleans in the early seventies, that Mrs. 
Kerr, known to old-timers as "Little Greta' ', enter- 
tained her Texas friends in such royal fashion, that 
they talk about it yet. And Colonel Swenson of New 
York, where he then resided, would S. M. S. a check 
of one or two hundred dollars to some beloved, but less 
fortunate relative in Texas. 

It is an illustration of Swenson 's magnetic person- 
ality, that nearly all of the old-timers will invariably 
say: "Swenson seemed to take a special liking to 
me," when talking of him. 

1867 was written on the letterheads, that went 
eastward to the little home in Lattarp, Sweden. From 
the Exchange in New York, a steady stream of or- 
ders, consignments, purchases, telegrams and ex- 
changes flowed continually. Clerks and messengers 
came and went. Hides, wool and cotton were still 
handled on a commission basis. Large consignments 
of merchandise, that were purchased in the open New 
York market, were sent to southern merchants, on 



HYPHENATED 263 

commission. The Panhandle holdings* in Texas were 
developed into immense ranches, where hundreds of 
thousands of the fine blooded cattle and horses were 
subsequestly raised. 

The Govalle property was converted in Gould rail- 
road shares, and the hub around which all the busi- 
ness hummed was "S. M. S." Chittendon, Joffray, 
Claflin, Bliss and others were among the big mer- 
chants of those days and drafts for $200,000, a big 
sum of money then, were cashed at sight between 
these merchant princes without any hesitation. 

But between the busy moments Swenson found time 
to think of his old friends in Sweden, as well as 
Texas. When his friend Col. Brackenridge of San 
Antonio, with many others, was compelled to look 
after a more reliable stock of laborers than 
the free negroes, with Federal backing, August 
B. Palm of Austin, with Swenson in New 
York, and brother "Johan i Langasa" in Swe- 
den established an imigration bureau which brought 
into Texas hundreds of emmigrants that have proven 



*The splendidly illustrated and ably written book, "The 
S. M. Swenson Kanch" of northwest Texas, gives more in- 
formation abont this wonderful property, and the coloni- 
zation of it than can be gathered elsewhere. After read- 
ing that souvenir pamphlet you do not wonder at the pride 
taken in their ranch work or the products therefrom. 



264 HYPHENATED 

good, loyal, and desirable citizens. They, with mil- 
lions of others have done their best to rescue the word 
" hyphen' ' from necessarily designating a less desir- 
able class of citizens. "With flashing eye, they are 
today demanding what is coming to them as loyal 
law-abiding citizens. 

Daniel Heard was going back to Texas again after 
a ten-years absence. He was bringing with him about 
a hundred immigrants, from the old country, the son 
of Swenson's brother "Johan" included. "The city 
of Baltimore" had made a record trip across the 
Atlantic and was moored at the "White Star Line" 
pier, one of the -last days of June. Swenson had to 
come down and see them and invited some of them 
to his home in Brooklyn. 

' ' It seems to me, it has taken you an awful long time, 
Heard, to get hold of these immigrants V ' 

"Do you think so, Swenson?" 

"Yes, you went away in 1857 and now it is 1867." 

"Oh well, Colonel, you know that the war pre- 
vented me from coming back." 

Yes, you got away from the strife that we all had 
to live through in one way or another. But the 
Union is preserved, although the price that was paid 
seems unproportionally great. I tell you, Heard, 
when the Anglo Saxon goes to war for principles, 
sacred to them, it is not child's play. If the two 



HYPHENATED 265 

factions had not underrated each other, they would 
have hesitated to meet in such a dreadful combat. 
But thank God, it is all over. I hope the reconstruc- 
tion work is not going to effect you too hard down 
there.' ' 

"Well Colonel, we are not going into politics. We 
came to work." 

"I hope so. But how are the folks at home?" 

"All well! Your mother is as busy as ever with 
her looms, and branches out on art weaving, until 
she makes even the nobility come and admire her 
tapestry. ' ' 

"Well, mother is great when it comes to art weav- 
ing. And how is father ? " 

"As usual." 

Swenson took his nephew and the rest of the com- 
pany around to Broadway, Central Park and Bar- 
num's Museum. They admired Tom Thumb, his little 
wife and baby, had a sumptuous supper, and took in 
the greatest fireworks they had ever seen, and thus 
were well satisfied with their first fourth of July and 
its celebration. To be sure the cannon fire crackers 
startled them quite a bit, but when Swenson explained 
the nature and the spirit of the celebration, and 
promised it would be all over by tomorrow, they 
quieted down and came to look at it as a harmless ( !) 
amusement. 



266 HYPHENATED 

Before the party, the balance of whom were quar- 
tered in "Castle Garden," sailed in the old rickety 
boat that came very near proving a death trap to the 
whole crowd, Swenson, dressed in silk hat, Prince Al- 
bert coat, and white vest, addressed his countrymen 
whose colonization he had hoped for all these many 
years : 

"Bo} T s,*' he said, "you are coming over here with 
about as much worldly goods as I had thirty years 
ago. Some of you have more. You are going to a 
part of this great and grand country where there is 
good opportunity awaiting the industrious faithful 
toiler. Be diligent, honest, frugal and sober and you 
will succeed like I have done. For the lazy, dis- 
honest, intemperate fellow this country has no use. 
Remember the religious principles you have been 
taught at home, and some day, I hope we will be 
able to send a minister to preach the word of God to 
you and teach you the right way in your native tongue. 
Good-bye, my countrymen. God be with you."* 

So they departed, and new ones would come later — 
all bound for Texas. All that were destined to Aus- 



*The promise of sending a minister to care for the spirit- 
ual needs of the mostly young and unmarried immigrants 
was fulfilled within a year, when the Rev. Carleen, a 
Swedish Episcopal minister visited the colonies in Austin 
and Palm Valley. 



HYPHENATED 267 

tin, Texas, were brought out to the Govalle home- 
stead and given board and lodging before they were 
sent to their respective places. 

If Swenson could have stayed in Texas and realized 
his ambitions and dreams, there is no telling what ex- 
tent the immigration or colonization would have 
taken. In all likelikood the plans would have been 
carried out on a larger and grander scale. But he 
did what he could to further the cause of the 
overcrowded population in the rocky, often* barren 
country, in his home province and it was a benevolent 
act to help them to emmigrate, even if they had to 
work twelve months to repay their "passage." 

So the years rolled on. The business prospered. 
Lean years were met with the surplus of fat years, and 
no harm came of it. Business was systematized and 
ran like clockwork. Some relatives employed here 
and there gave assurance of efficiency and loyalty in 
the different departments of affairs. The old order 
passeth and the S. M. Swenson & Sons Banking Com- 
pany was formed. New help was secured, and with 
Greta settled in the South, the sons duly inaugurated 
in the private affairs, it suddenly dawned on the busy 
man, getting gray and somewhat worn, from a hard 
contact with a busy relentless world, that a little rest 
and a trip to Sweden would be just the right thing to 



268 HYPHENATED 

do. Surely when a man has worked long, hard and 
successfully until he is sixty years of age, he is en- 
titled to some recreation. 

1 ' "Wife, ' ' he said one day, ' ' I believe I mil go home 
to Sweden this summer and rest up. "Will you go with 
me?" 

"No, " Mrs. Swenson did not think she could go. 
"But it ought to be about time for you to go home 
and buy that estate you promised your mother. You 
have made money enough, and if you intend to do it 
you must act while she lives and can enjoy it." 

Swenson tapped his plate gleefully. "Mother will 
live to be a hundred years old. See if she don't. We 
come from a long-lived stock of people. But Uncle 
Swente wrote me that Ingsberg is for sale. He would 
like to buy it, he says, if I can get him the money. 

"Oh, I remember how, often as a barefoot boy, I 
would run by there on some errand and wish I had 
an estate like that." 

"Is it pretty?" 

" It is a dignified old place with three stories, roomy 
and substantial, with wide fields, and the finest timber 
in the woods, pine and spruce as straight and tall as 
the highest masts on any ship in the harbor of New 
York." 



HYPHENATED 269 

"If it is good enough for Uncle Swente, it would 
not be too good for your mother. ' ' 

"Too good? Why that old mother of mine de- 
serves the best in the land. I believe I will go over 
this summer and look at it."* 



*Margret on Lattarp died at the ripe old age of ninety- 
nine years. On the tombstone of his parents Swenson 
wrote an epitaph characteristic of him. Translated to 
English it runs something like this : 

"She lived to weave her mats and flax; 
His life was spent in paying tax." 



CHAPTEE XVII 
THE ESTATE 

The foxhounds gave their peculiar bark which in- 
dicated that they had scented a " trail." The horn 
which the "master of the chase" blew called the dif- 
ferent hunters together. The indication was that foxes 
were plentiful. They had even invaded the chicken 
yard. 

' ' There must be a brood of young ones, ' ' the shrewd 
old game warden of the Ingsberg estate confided to his 
master, Captain Tissell. 

"Well, Eapp, what are we to do?" asked the cap- 
tain. 

Old Rapp scratched his head. ' ' If your honor and 
Baron Wrangel will take station here behind the 
stone fence, and Count Hamiltoiu hide behind that 
old stump, I think we will stand a good chance to 
see the old fox sneaking to his lair just in the edge of 
that thicket over yonder. I have noticed that is his 
favorite trail." 

"All right, Rapp. You ought to know. But don't 



HYPHENATED 271 

keep us here all day. I am getting as hungry as a 
wolf. And say, gentlemen, don't shoot any elk, it 
is out of season now." 

"How about wolves, Captain?" 

"Ah, well, salt all the wolves you can get hold of." 

"Bang!" went Old Rapp's repeater, and a fine old 
fox jumped seven feet in the air" — 

"Why in thunder and tarnation, Eapp, didn't you 
wait a bit?" 

' ' He would have escaped to his lair, Your Excel- 
lency, if I had waited two seconds more. - ' 

"Well, it is my poor luck," growled the Captain. 
"Nothing ever bigger than rabbits and grouse comes 
my way. ' ' 

"Salt a wolf for a change, Captain," the other hun- 
ters bantered him. 

"Or a bear!" 

"Don't get sassy now, you old good for nothing 
Nimrods. All you will have to show for a morning's 
hunt will be empty guns." 

"Well, couldn't we have a shot at one of these 
does?" 

"We have plenty for a supply of venison and we 
don't want to kill the does. They will bring young 
ones when spring comes. A buck would be different, 
but we don't need it just now, besides I don't like 



272 HYPHENATED 

to look in the eyes of a deer that I have killed. ' ' 

"Why!" 

"Because the look of a deer haunts me for a good 
long while." 

1 ' Oh, you are a tenderfoot, Captain ! ' ' 

"Perhaps so, but let us repair to the warden's house 
and taste that haunch of venison he has on the spit. 
I bet it will taste splendid after the hunt." 

And Old Rapp gathered, according to habit, all the 
game from the morning's hunt and hastened home 
to warn the old lady turning the roast to put the 
coffee pot on the fire, because the noblemen would 
soon be in for dinner. 

The tall, stately fir and spruce with straight trunks 
seemed to reach almost to the heavens. The twilight 
sifted down and created a wierd (jininterpretable 
feeling while the hunters strode slowly towards the 
warden's house. 

1 1 Fine timber, ' ' remarked one. 

"Yes, and an unusually fine estate all around, isn't 
it?" 

1 ' Come now, Tissel ! What is the matter with you ? 
Are you not delighted with your property? I would 
be, if I were you." 

"Well, canj't you stay the week out?" the Captain 
queried. "I tell you gentlemen, I hate to be left alone 



HYPHENATED 273 

here and especially at Ingsberg during the night 
time." 

"It is not haunted, is it ? ' ' 

The Captain nodded in a silent way that was very 
significant. 

"Oh, what a joke! A Captain in the army, afraid 
of ghosts/' 

"Who said I was afraid?" Tissell demanded. 
Car/t a man have a dislike for a thing without neces- 
sarily being afraid?" 

"Well, we will stay with you all week, maybe we 
can have a glimpse of a real ghost for once in our 
lifetime." 

"But what is it that matters, Ingsberg? With all 
this fine timber, big fields, the peasants on their small 
farms near it, and the mansion as the crowning thing, 
it seems to me ideal." 

"I will show you, gentlemen, when we get home, 
the two rooms which tradition says were the cell of 
some baroness, countess or other lady of nobility. 
There she was kept in a captive state while her hus- 
band had another woman in the house for a wife. The 
children born of this unholy union were never per- 
mitted to see daylight. Bones of their small bodies 
were said to have been found in the fireplace and 
ash piles. In the meantime the food was served 
through a hole in the wall to the poor, imprisoned 



274 HYPHENATED 

soul, who was never permitted to leave her prison 
until released by death. I will show you the hole 
in the wall. It is there yet." 

"A tragic story!" 

"Yes, a very tragic tradition, but the worst thing 
now is, you cannot break the servants from keeping 
up, and circulating ghost stories concerning it. They 
will sit at nights and tell their tales, until they don't 
dare to go out alone at night time, and if you send 
one on a night errand anywhere in the house you may 
hear a scream loud enough to raise the dead, when 
they imagine they have seen or heard something 
ghostly. I tell you, gentlemen, when a household 
gets panic stricken like that it creates a peculiar at- 
mosphere that you cannot fight. It is something you 
cannot take in your hands and combat. It is a real, 
subtle, influence like sulphur fumes which seem to 
choke you slowly but persistently. You cannot shake 
it off!" 

Is it just a fertile imagination, or do you think 
there is a real cause producing the panic?" 

"Well, we will ask Old Rapp when we get to the 
table." 

So they sat around the table, enjoyed the juicy 
venison and the brown bread with good butter and 
sipped the coffee, lighted their cigars, stuck their 
thumbs in their vest arm-holes, tilted their chairs in 



HYPHENATED 275 

a comfortable position, and interrogated Old Rapp 
to their hearts ' content. 

"Well, Rapp, did you not serve as an attendant to 
old Dr. Hognander in his days at Ingsberg?" 

The stalwart military training of Old Rapp came 
to a sudden awakening. He made military salute, 
touched his old capless head and answered: 

"Yes, Captain,." 

"Was not your father a servant at Ingsberg also?" 

"He was." 

"How old were you when you started to serve the 
Doctor?" 

"About fifteen years." 

"Did you or your father ever see any ghost in the 
mansion ? ' ' 

"We were never allowed to speak on that subject, 
Your Excellency." 

"But now, I command you to speak." 

"Rapp made another salute. 

"Did you ever see anything?" 

Rapp was perplexed. 

"I couldn't swear to anything," he managed to 
say. 

"Well, but did you not see something unusual, 
once in a while, in the night time?" 

"I thought I did, yes." 



276 HYPHENATED 

"Do you remember whether your father had seen 
anything ? ' ' 

"I do, Captain. " 

' ' What in thunder do you stand there holding back 
like an unprimed old pump for ? ' ' the impatient young 
Count broke in. "We want to hear a ghost story. 
Go on now." 

Rapp made another salute, bowed, and cleared his 
throat. 

"It was this way, Your Excellency: Father was 
footman for many years to Sir Sjolin and was also the 
butler. And sometimes when he spoke about some- 
thing incredulous, the Colonel would jokingly re- 
mark : ' I believe you have been sampling my brandy 
again, John.' 

"So when father one day remarked: 'I saw her 
again last night carrying the tray/ the Colonel says, 
'Yes, John, I noticed there was a quart of my best 
brandy gone last night. That's where you get your 
inspiration' " — 

"Well, go on, Rapp." 

"But when I had to be attendant to the Doctor, 
I had to sleep in the little room outside of the Doc- 
tor's night chamber. I was scared and would rather 
have slept at home, but there was no help for it. I 
had to stay there many a time and wait for my peo- 
ple late at night." 



HYPHENATED 277 

"And did you see anything?" 

"Well, I cannot place my finger on the Book and 
swear to it, but it seems to me I have seen a woman 
many a time coming from those two rooms on the east 
side, with her tray." 

The three men of nobility and education looked at 
each other. 

' ' And if I say that I have seen the very same thing, 
gentlemen, what then?" corroborated Captain Tis- 
sell! 

"I don't understand who the lady with the tray 
represents," the young Count wondered. 

' l It can 't be the lady in the cell-room. ' ' 

' ' Oh, I guess it is a hallucination. ' ' 

"No one believes in ghosts nowadays." 

"What do you think, Baron?" 

The Baronet — a middle-aged man with a student's 
mind — -reflected on his face — looked out thorugh the 
little window as if he had seen something far off : 

"I think," he said, in slow, measured tones, "that 
psychological researches warrant the conclusion that 
it is not impossible at all. That a great agony of 
mind at death-beds, or under a cruel mode of death 
inflicted by others, or when there is an intense desire 
to impart an important communication in the dying 
hour, that not only the atmosphere to a certain extent, 
but even the very walls, ceiling, floor and furniture 



278 HYPHENATED 

may be impregnated with these intense feelings. You 
mentioned, Captain, how real the panicky atmosphere 
in the house is. I think it is something of the same 
order. Have you not visited some old, historical build- 
ing, where some great deed or tragedy took place, and 
noticed the peculiar feeling which took possession of 
you that seemed to pervade the air and even cling to 
the walls. You could see and imagine the event for 
which it is celebrated as you never could before." 

The young Count was all ears and intensely inter- 
ested. 

"You may be right, Baron," he admitted. "But 
how about the lady with the tray. What does she 
want?" 

"Well," resumed the Baron, "I may be wrong in 
my theory about it, but it is not the imprisoned lady 
that is stalking about — if there is any stalking about 
at all. She may have been at peace with her Maker 
if she was sane, and have become reconciled to her 
fate and died in peace. Or she may have been insane 
and not her own self. Then she would have lost her 
personality more or less, and consequently her power 
to leave any strong impression behind her. But, she 
may have had a faithful maid, who carried that tray 
with food to her, three times a day, who stamped the 
floors in helpless agony, and suffered perhaps even 
more than her imprisoned mistress; or she might 



HYPHENATED 279 

have been a cruel person who committed unpardon- 
able sins against a helpless victim, who could not de- 
fend herself, and, at last, in her dying hour woke up 
to the fact that there was a judgment and a well- 
deserved punishment in store for her, and that might 
be the terrible impression left behind." 

But the young count wanted to know if a good coat 
of kalsomining would not cover up the influence at- 
tached to the walls ? 

" Perhaps so! Perhaps a good disinfectant that 
would come in contact with the senses first would 
crowd out the chances for other thoughts, feelings or 
influences to get control of the mind. Perhaps a 
thorough cleaning, painting and renovating would 
rid the place of the whole thing. ' ' 

"But," the Captain spoke up, "I have decided to 
sell this old thing if I can get a decent price for 
it. I am tired of it and want to get away from 
here. I wish you would stay the week out with me, 
then I will leave also for military duties. But I hear 
Colonel Swenson from New York is coming home to 
visit his mother and relatives, and is looking for 
something to invest his money in. They say he is a 
millionaire now, though when he left Barkeryd he 
was nothing but a poor boy. How he got his Colonel- 
ship, I do not know." 



280 HYPHENATED 

"Well, make him pay a good price for the estate, 
if you do sell it." 

The volume of talk three men, hunting at leisure, 
can turn out during four days, roving in fields and 
woods would fill many a volume. Their appetites were 
excellent, the conversation pleasant, and at night they 
slept like logs unmolested by the ghost with the tray. 
The foxes they hunted and finally bagged proved to 
be the all-absorbing topic, and the ghost was forgot- 
ten. 

The hole in the wall was forgotten too, but on the 
last day of their visit, Captain Tissell suddenly re- 
membered his promise and took them over to the 
abandoned part of the building and showed them the 
hole m the wall. 

The young Count stroked his forehead. 

"It seems to me now that I must have dreamed 
of the lady with the tray one night. I had forgotten 
all about it, but I suddenly remember it now. She 
stood before me with that tray and said something to 
me." 

1 ' Didn 't she say, ' I am so sorry VV 

"Perhaps so, but it was only a dream. I was not 
awake." 

"Yes, perhaps so." 



HYPHENATED 281 

The story of the home-coming of one Swedish-Amer- 
ican is very much like all others. They get thrilled 
through and through as they approach the well-knowrj 
shores and home places. Their best and most tender 
feelings are aroused to their highest pitch when they 
embrace their feeble old parents and other relations. 
They spend their money freely with their home folks, 
and walk about where the old play grounds used to 
be, and where old memories are fondly recalled, and 
enjoy it all. 

Sweuson did all that and more too. 

It seems that Consul Palm had prearranged matters 
between Captain Tissel and Swenson so when he took 
his mother out for a drive one day, they went to 
brother ' ' Johan i Langasa, ' ' and together they visited 
Ingsberg and looked it over. 

"But, my boy, what do you want to do with an 
estate like this?" the old mother said. "Do you in- 
tend to move back to Sweden?" 

"Don't you remember, mother, that I promised you 
an estate when I grew up and made a lot of money ? ' ' 

' * Yes, my son, but haven 't you given me everything 
I need in abundance? How will I be able to manage 
it?" 

"We will try to get Brother Johan to take the 
management on his shoulders. Won't you do that 
Johan?" 



282 HYPHENATED 

And Johan acquiesced. 

"I will come home often and rest up, mother. I 
am getting old and gray like you, and I need a lit- 
tle recreation now and then. We will renovate the 
old mansion from bottom to top, before you move 
into it. Then you can start as many looms as you 
want. I will stand good for all the yarn you need for 
your looms." 

"But won't it appear like we are stuck up, when we 
move in here, and ride in a fine carriage. I would 
rather have our plain little wagon from Lattarp to 
ride in?" 

"Now, mother, listen to me. You are one of the 
smartest, pluckiest little mothers that ever lived. Noth- 
ing is too good for you. Should a woman who can 
carry off the prizes at expositions like you do, and 
present even the King with artweaved cloth for a vest 
and get thanked for it, should you feel stuck up, or 
need feel uncomfortable in your new station? It 
seems to me you are only coming into your own. 

* ' And remember, Johan, that we will not economize 
on fertilizers on the estate. We want to take a pride 
in the crops, cattle, appearance of the mansion and 
gardens. I will enjoy seeing everything shine and 
glisten with thrift and order." 

It was not idle talk or far away plans this time. 
When the next spring rolled around "Margret on 



HYPHENATED 283 

Lattarp," as all the old-timers persisted in calling 
her, and Johan, her son, with his family, were duly 
installed in the renovated Ingsberg Mansion. 

The looms and spinning wheels boomed and hum- 
med with more energy than ever and Johan had to 
pay hundreds of kronor for fine yarn. 

"Mother," he would say, "you are getting worse, 
and more extravagant every year. "What will Swen 
say to having a bill of two hundred and fifty kronor 
sent him for yarn." 

But the eighty-year-old lady told him that Swen 
had promised her all the yarn she could use in her 
looms and she was going to take him up on it. 

Dressed in finest of silk, behind a pair of beautiful 
horses, the old lady — who in 1849 had returned from 
her foreign journey so unassuming, alone, and weary 
— was taking her usual morning ride, according to 
Swenson's specific prescription. When the peasants 
saw the fine carriage coming they said to one another : 
"Here comes the 'Lady Margret on Lattarp/ " and 
many a mother sighed and said to herself: "I wish 
I had a son like Swenson." 

"Don't you get bothered by ghosts, Frau Mar- 
gret?" some one asked the old lady. 

But she told them that she had always been too 
busy to care for ghosts, and now she was so old the 
ghosts did not care for her; besides, she knew the 



284 HYPHENATED 

Lord's prayer and the benediction was sufficient 
against any ghosts, witches or goblins under the sun. 
She was not afraid of them. But her granddaughter 
thought she saw the lady with the tray the first night 
of her stay, and Johan was not sure, but something 
was a little unusual sometimes, and the little grand- 
children were regaled with ghost stories by the ser- 
vants until they dared not look out of the door at 
night time. Still, they were always wild for some 
more hair-bristling ghost stories the next day. 

Even Captain Tissell would beg one of the small 
boys to sleep with him when he came to Ingsberg for 
a hunt and was invited to stay overnight. 

But old Margret w r ould read her prayers, and Johan 
the Word of God, like a true father should do in his 
house, and no harm ever came to the household. 

Old-timers remembered S. M. Swenson as reading 
the Bible with his family every day. Thus was his 
home and business builded on the solid rock and not 
on the shifting sands. Thus the true citizen is made. 

AVhile in Sweden, two years after his purchase of 
Ingsberg, Swenson wrote the following letter to his 
life-long trusted friend Consul Palm of Austin, Texas : 

" Ingsberg, 14th July, 1879. 
"Dear Uncle Swente: 

"I suppose you have heard that I left New York 
for Sweden to spend a few months here. I have been 



HYPHENATED 285 

here three weeks. All our relatives are well and 
mother seems to be as well and as active as when I 
was here two years ago, and constantly employed in 
weaving". [The plucky old lady was then eighty-six 
years old.] 

"This place is now very much improved in every 
way, and it is very beautiful. It has been a late spring 
with rainy and cold weather since I came here. Every- 
thing in the garden, fields aiul meadows looks green 
and fresh and lovely. They are now in the midst of 
the haying season. The crops of grain, potatoes, vege- 
tables, as well as fruit in the orchards, are better here 
than elsewhere, owing, no doubt, to abundant fertiliz- 
ing and good farming. The crops in Smaland are 
very promising, but there is a scarcity of money, low 
prices on everything, and laboring people begging for 
work. If they had the means for emigration, the out- 
flow to America would be immense. Commercial man- 
ufactures and railway traffic is depressed, very many 
failures have taken place and are being added to every 
week. The people, nevertheless, look cheerful and ap- 
parently happy. Perhaps they conceal their real feel- 
ings. 

"A good many persons have inquired about you and 
desired me to present their compliments when I see 
you. 



286 HYPHENATED 

1 ' I had a letter from Judge Duval in which he men- 
tions that there is a very severe drouth and very hot 
weather in Texas. I feel sorry for you, and wish you 
were here among the shady groves and cool fresh 
breezes. You would soon feel that the sunny days 
here are the most pleasant. The thermometer has 
ranged between 50 and 70 degrees fahrenheit, seldom 
above 60 degrees, and occasionally I enjoy a fire in the 
'kakelugn' (heater). 

"Since I came here I have stayed at home most of 
the time. Carl Swenson is my companion. He is very 
lively and pleasant and I suppose one of the great 
fiddlers. He is very industrious and if his health 
permits I doubt not he will be a great musician. 

"I have been to Lattarp (the old home place) twice, 
to Jonkoping, once. Both are lovely and the latter im- 
proving — orderly and pleasant. 

"Yesterday I spent the day at Lattarp rowing 
around the beautiful lake, which was as smooth as a 
looking glass, reflecting its beautiful surroundings. 
We landed at Krokesbo, Boarp and Alarp. and 
rambled about in their yards and gardens at leisure. 
Boarp belongs now to a good farmer. Lattarp is much 
improved, and I know of no place anywhere which 
excels it in natural beauty. All they need is a good 
and handsome dwelling to make it a gem of a country 
home. 



HYPHENATED 287 

"I have had letters and telegrams from my wife and 
her traveling companions, Albin, Nora, Mr. and Mrs. 
Atkins (our neighbors). 

"I expect them about 10 p. m. this evening, and 
all is in readiness for their reception except 'arepor- 
tar' (triumphal arches) and Chinese lanterns, which I 
understand mother and the servants are preparing to 
decorate the grounds with. 

"The party have had an unpleasant voyage across 
the Atlantic, and I think they will enjoy the quiet 
beauty and freshness of Ingsberg, 

"Please remember me to Uncle Gustav and his 
family — also to all my friends in Austin, and with 
love to you and Aunt Agness, 

"I am yours affectionately, 

"S. M. SWENSON." 

In addition, the following information may be of 
interest : 

Ingarsberg — being the full name of the old estate 
— dates with its history back to the thirteenth century. 
Herr Peder Axelson Tott possessed the estate early 
in 1400. His widow, Frau Martha, descendant from 
the Bo Jonson Grip nobility, the richest people in 
Sweden in those days, turned the estate over to her 
son Axel Pederson, 1462. Later it was ravaged and 
burned during the Danish invasion in the early part 
of the fifteenth century. 



288 HYPHENATED 

During the sixteenth century it was rebuilt by Gen. 
Queckfeldt, but further away from the lake. The 
Queckfeldts, who fought under Carolus the XII and 
followed him to the disaster at Pultava in Russia, and 
the exile in Bender, Turkey, had their coat of arms 
in the parish church, hanging on the walls until 1791 
when the church was rebuilt. 

Early in 1800 the estate came into the hands of Sir 
Anders Sjolin, who rebuilt the castle in 1805, which is 
the identical building of today. His stepdaughter and 
heir married the family doctor, Hognander, at the 
ripe age of sixty-three years. She left this peculiar 
proverb behind her, remembered and quoted yet: 

"The Lord only knows if a body does the right 
thing," said Aunt Maria when she married at sixty- 
three. 

The estate came into the hands of a relative, Bank 
Director Bjork. Later it was bought by Lieutenant 
Tissel, and in 1874 by " Johan i Langasa," financed by 
his brother, S. M. Swenson. 

Today, after some subdivisions, the main estate is 
in possession of Herr Carl Swenson, a nephew of 
Swenson and son of Johan i Langasa, 

Three stories high, with a background of rocky 
mountains and stately fir trees, almost concealed from 
view by big shade trees lies the old castle today in still 
repose with its romantic history. 




S. M. SWENSON 
In Later Years 



HYPHENATED 289 



Swenson, according to his promise, visited the old 
estate quite often, and would go home every summer 
for several successive years. It is said, by those who 
had opportunity to observe him, that often he would 
come up from behind and slip a bank note, or coin, 
into the hand of some deserving or needy peasant 
of the estate, and then walk off, pretending not to 
hear the surprised thankfulness of the party, for he 
had an aversion to a public display of his benevo- 
lence. Part of his religion consisted in doing good 
to those nearest him first, and the rumor that he was 
hard on the "dissenters" on the estate is stoutly de- 
nied by those who are in position to know. 

In 1896, suffering from some chronic ailment, he 
underwent an operation only to succumb, and pass 
away, at the ripe age of eighty years. The excellent 
wife, who shared his early hardships and later the 
well-deserved success, has also passed away. "Little 
Greta" (later Mrs. Kerr of New Orleans), the oldest 
daughter, died at an early age. Eric P. and S. Albin, 
the sons, are today w^ell known, prominent, successful 
bankers and business men, and as fond of the S. M. 
S. signature, as a mark of high standard, quality 
and reliability as their father was in his days. Their 
young sons are being trained to take their place 



290 HYPHENATED 

some future day. "Little Nora/' as we remember 
from Govalle, is now Mrs. 

We regret that we have not been able to secure the 
pictures of the whole family from the Govalle period, 
owing to the holiday rush to get this book in print, 
but anyone interested can find the pictures of the now 
senior members of the firm in the S. M. S. Ranch 
booklet, Stamford (Jones County), Texas. They look 
like ' ' the sons of their father. ' ' 

The people whom they and their father have as- 
sisted to immigrate to the Lone Star State, have also 
developed in the meantime. Their colonies, resi- 
dences, churches and schools compare ver} r fa- 
vorably with other developments in this State, and 
the younger generation has very little of the " Hy- 
phenated' ' about them. They are Texans — Ameri- 
cans — first, last, and all the time, thanks to their 
transitory ancestors — the " Hyphenated. ' ' 

Finis 



